Crooked Ways is how Crooked Plays
by EvilTC
Summary: Callie Callahan prefers to stay a shadow in the background of life. False names, cash transactions and more lies then she wants to remember. But one chance encounter with a crooked importer may change life as she knows it. Will the town of Haven become the place she has been searching for her entire life?
1. Dinner for Two?

_Author's Note: I own nothing that is Haven; character's, plot lines or story details. They are owned by their respected people and the Syfi network. I own anything that is not part of the wonderful world of Haven. This is solely for personal gratification of having a story out there about Duke. I have search high and low for Duke Crocker stories and came up a little less successful then I liked. Hopefully, this wets a Duke Crocker fan's appetite and they in turn provide me with a little Duke lovin! Please review!_

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Callie Callahan, shifted the weight of her grocery's as she walked down the docks towards her temporary home, The North Star. It was temporary because she never knew how long she could stay here before an 'accident' happened. An accident that would result in a little too much attention paid in her general direction and too many unwanted questions being asked by people in uniforms.

And there was just something said about some secrets are better left alone. And hers was one of them.

Callie shook her head in frustration as a big gust of wind blew down the docks. She wished she could pull down her knitted cap but her hands were full with three large brown paper bags full of food. She was almost to the boat, and was damn glad that she could see it just a bit further down the dock. Her ears were frozen stiff.

She wanted to get into the boat before the rain that had been threatening all morning came down. The clouds were dark gray and on their way to turning black. If the local weather station was right, they were in for a bad night with a harsh winter thunderstorm rolling in from the Atlantic Ocean.

A second gust of cold wind blew her long brown hair in her face, and her cap off her head. She turned around just in time to see it fly down the docks behind her.

"Shit!" Callie swore and she set down her oversized loads awkwardly onto the wooded surface of the dock. She chased down after the bright green cap but the wind was blowing to hard for her to catch it.

A tall, dark haired man was on the end of the dock walking her way. She had seen him a few times, enough to know that he also lives in one of the other boats docked somewhere near hers. She watched as he scooped her cap up just before it took a dump into the cold ocean.

"Looks like this got away from you." he said giving her want she was sure was a roguish grin that probably worked on a lot of ladies but not her. "Guess I saved you from a cold dip."

"Looks like it." Callie replied taking the cap from him and replacing it on her head. She turned away from her and looked over her shoulder at him. "Thanks."

He stood there for a moment, clearly shocked at her not falling for what she was sure was his best 'take you pants off' look then chased after her.

Callie grimaced at the sound of his boots pounding on the dock planks as she increased her pace to get away from him. She really didn't want to make any lasting impression on anyone. The longer she stayed in the background the better.

"What's you hurry?" he called after her as he saw her bend down and tried to scoop up her over loaded grocery's bags but couldn't't pick up the third one with both hands full. He took advantage of her full hands and bent down to pick up the last brown paper bag. "I thought we could you know, exchange names and get a bite to eat."

"Well, as much as I am grateful for you help with my hat, I don't think I have time for what you are suggesting Mr. ?" Callie said looking at him, her hazel eyes narrowing at him in annoyance.

"Crocker. But you can call me Duke, like the rest of my friends do." Duke replied, giving her his best 'I'm really a friendly guy." grin.

"Yes, well I think I will stick to Mr. Crocker." Callie replied before she jester towards the bag in his hands." So just give me the bag and we'll call it a day."

"I'll give you the bag if you tell me your name." Duke replied as Callie turned away from him and started walking towards her boat.

"Actually, your going to give me the bag because what's inside it is mine." Callie stated as she tossed a glare back at him over her shoulder. " I dislike you not doing want I want you to do."

"Well, I rarely do what other people want I'm afraid." Duke said as he watched the way her ass move in her faded blue jeans. He did like the view from behind her and had like the view every morning since she started rented old man McAlister's old fishing boat a few months back. She was an improvement to his morning routine of drinking coffee and reading the news paper in the early morning hours. Who didn't like a shapely brunette who like to do yoga in the early morning sun with skin tight clothes on? "So, why don't you just tell me your name and we'll start from there."

Callie clenched her teeth as she continued to stomp down the dock. She reached the North Star, went aboard and placed the two bags she was carrying down on the shelf that was screwed into the wall of the boat. This was getting ridiculous. What happened to a guy just taking a freakin hint.

"And why do I want to do that Mr. Crocker." asked Callie as she tried to reach out and grab the bag in his hands. He anticipates her grab and moves the bag out of her reach, just a little bit from her short arms.

Callie bit her lip to stop the groan of frustration from escaping her mouth. She hated being shorter then everyone else. Especially when being shorter hindered her in getting what she wanted.

Duke smiles at her as another big gust of wind comes barrelling from the ocean and down the docks, causing her to reach for that pretty green hat again. He saw the flash of annoyance cross over her delicate features and had to admit that he like the way her pretty hazel eyes narrowed in annoyance at him.

"I don't think so." Duke said with a laugh. "Didn't your mother ever teach you it's not nice to grab?"

"Is he bothering you?" asked a male voice to their left. They had been so involved in starring each other down that neither heard the approached of two of Haven's finest detectives. The dark haired man spoke first, his blonde hair partner, an on lone FBI agent if the gossip market was true, stayed silent, observing the scene before her.

"We were just getting acquainted before you rudely interrupted, Nathan." Duke replied before Callie had a chance to open her mouth. She could hear the contempt in both men's voices when they spoke to each other. Clearly, they had some unresolved issues, she really didn't need to feel apart of. "I was just helping with the grocery's like a good neighbour would."

Seeing Duke's attention was distracted she made a grab for the bag, retching it out his grasp and toss him a look of smug victory. He gave her a nod and smirk that made her brain go into an area she wished it wouldn't.

"I don't know if I would call you a good neighbour." the blonde next to the tall detective spoke. " I wasn't aware you knew how to be one."

"Funny Audrey," Duke replied, with a frown as Callie saw the other detective laugh. " I see you ate your witty pancakes this morning."

"I don't think we've met before." Audrey flashed Duke an smirk " I'm Special Agent Audrey Parker and this is my partner Nathan Wournos. I don't think I caught your name."

"That's cause I never gave it." Callie said as she moved further onto the boat away from the dock. " I'm not much for local law enforcement and let alone a fancy FBI agent like your self. But since they give that shinny badge and all, I bet you'll find out my name by the end of the day."

Duke couldn't hide the smile that spread across his face with the words coming out of Callie's mouth. Especially when he saw the narrow eyes and frowning expression stapled on Nathan's face. And here he thought he was the only one that made him look like that.

"How about you just give me your name and we can do a little dinner, you know get to know each other." Duke leaned across the dock and over the railing of the boat.

"Why don't we just skip the name exchange and you can take yourself to dinner and get a new personality." Callie raised an eyebrow and gave her best 'fuck you' smirk before turning so sharp that her long brown hair flew over she shoulder as she walked down the cabin below.

"I don't think she likes me very much." Duke frowned as he turned to look at two of his favourite law enforcement agents, well at least one was his favourite. The other was his long standing rival, running jab and the one person Duke knew would throw his ass in jail for so much as jaywalking let alone for the numerous packages his 'imported' and 'exported' for a fee.

"You figure?" Audrey replied as she took a good long look at the spot where Callie once stood. She would do a little digging around, starting with who ever rented the woman the boat, then run her name through their database and whatever the woman was hiding she'd have in her hands by the end of the day. Although Haven was not her town by birth, it was sure turning out to be now. And Audrey like to know what and who going around her town.

"Well, at least there's a silver lining to this." Duke did a few more buttons up on his knee length black coat as another gust of wind blew down the docks.

"And what's that Duke?" Nathan asked, standing on the dock like a stone statue, unaware of the chill in the air.

"She's likes you two even less." And with that Duke flashed Audrey a devilish smirk before turning down the dock towards his boat with long strides to get out of the cold weather.

Audrey could swear that insulting Nathan and any other fellow law enforcement officer put a little skip in Duke's steps. But she didn't take it personal, it was just Duke after all.

"Wonder what she's hiding?" Audrey asked as she gave Duke momentary glance before she turned around and headed back down the dock towards Nathan's truck.

"I bet this going to be interesting." Nathan gave Audrey a little smile as the wind assaulted their backsides. Nathan slowed his step a bit and moved behind Audrey, in order to give her a little shelter from the cold with his tall frame. He didn't really feel temperature due to his condition but he knew Audrey would feel he bite in the air. And she was just stubborn enough not to admit she was freezing.


	2. Sausage Party

Callie gave a frustrated sigh as she put away her grocery's in the galley of the ship. A large tan dog lay at her feet, lifted his head up at her sigh. His brown eyes looked at her with love and what she always thought was a bit of laughter.

"You know, if I didn't have to lug your stupid dog food all the way down the dock, I would have been able to catch my own damn hat then I could have avoided running into little miss Audrey Parker and Dudley do right Nathan Wournos."

The large dog crawled his way to her wound his way between her legs, tripping her up as she went to put away the sugar. She rolled her eyes as she braced her hand against the counter, and placed the sugar there. She reached down and ran her hand through his short fur. He butted her legs with his head and she laughed as she sat down. The large dog, settled himself down across her legs, resting his big head in her lap.

"Guess, we're going to have to be a bit more careful." Callie rubbed between his ears, in the spot that she knew he liked. " I really would hate to have to bail before the rent is done on this floating rust bucket, Max."

Max rolled onto his side and gave her a goofy doggy grin. Callie stared down at her one constant thing in life with a smile. She rubbed all of his favourite spots and giggled as his leg twitched when she hit his one favourite spot. Max came into her life as a surprise, he was abandoned on the side of the road, starved and beaten. He was wary of her, but she recognized something in his eyes. It was the same look in her eyes, and that was the longest she stayed in one place trying to convinced a broken dog to trust her. Max was the only thing she'd never cut and run on. He was her friend, companion and her family.

"Well, I guess we should put away the rest of the food. I think we're going to get one of those famous winter storms tonight." Callie sighed, pushing her self up off the ground and gave Max one last pat. "And we both know, your going to keep my up all night long. Aren't you?"

Max gave her his best, ' I know I am a pain in the ass, but you know you love me' look. It worked every time.

"I don't know how such a scary dog like you turns into a pussy when you hear a bit of thunder." Callie put away the last of the dry food and tied the cupboards closed like she was instructed by Macalister when she first rented the boat. She did the same to the fridge when she finished putting away the assorted items that needed to be stored the old ice box that she was sure was from the fifty's.

After feeding Max, she settling in for the night with a glass of cheap wine, a good book and a bag of her favourite cookies by the electric heater she bought a month ago. Max settled down by her feet on the worn out rug, rolled over onto his back and was out cold in a matter or minutes.

"I get my sleep too bud, since we both know your going to be howling like a pansy in a few hours." snorted Callie as she opened the paperback she had picked up at the second had store last week.

Max had indeed started howling at the thunder around three am. Callie thought for sure this one time he would sleep through it, but between the rocking of the boat and the booming of the thunder above them she wasn't getting any sleep and neither was Max. It was just going to be a repeat of another bad night in a strange town.

Callie watched as Max paced back and forth from one end to the other of boat cabin, howling and whining.

"Max, you such a big baby!" sighed Callie swinging her legs out of her bed. She reached for her glasses and out them on. She normally wore contacts during the day but at night she wore her glasses. She walked over to where Max was pacing and gave the big goof a rub behind the ears.

Max stopped pacing, his body was tense and stiff. He went to the cabin door and began scratching at it.

"You have to go to the bathroom now?" Callie reached for a hair tie and tossed her hair back into a pony tail. She reached for her jogging pants and threw them on over her panties before grabbing her windbreaker. She shoved her feet into her dc kicks and opened the door for Max.

Max was out of the cabin before Callie could do up her jacket. She grabbed a baseball cap before shutting the door behind her. She caught up with Max as he was half way down the dock doing his business off the side of the wooden dock. She was soaked within minutes of stepping out into the rainstorm. The wind was blowing the water over the dock and she sent up a pray that she or Max wouldn't end up in the water.

"Damn it Max!" Callie yelled over the blowing wind that almost knocked her off her feet and flat onto her ass. The wood was soaked through, and slippery as hell. She barely caught her self before she fell on one of the wooden pillars. "Only you would go to the bathroom in a fucking hurricane!"

Max trotted back to her, and she grabbed his collar to steady herself as they turned back towards the boat. She could see a set of lights on in the distance and wondered who was so lucky they had a generator as she had lost power a few hours into the storm. And by lights she meant shinning flickers of light in the distance as the rain was coming down so hard she was having trouble seeing in front of her face.

They were almost back at the boat when Max stopped. He pressed himself against her leg, and she couldn't hear him growling above the wind and thunder but she could feel his body vibrating. Callie ran her hand over fur and could feel Max's hackles up.

"Whoa homeboy, what's got you all fired up?" Shouted Callie as she bent down to pull him in towards her. She felt him brace himself before he launched himself down the dock. " Shit. Fuck, damnit all to hell."

Callie chased after Max, loosing him in the rain. Since the storm knocked out the power, the lamps that lit either side of the dock were out and with the thick rain pouring down she could barely see two feet in front of her let alone down the dock where her lousy dog took off.

She slipped and slid down the dock, almost took a tumble off the dock when a wave of water swept up over the dock and almost took her back into the pitch black water. Callie pulled herself up by holding onto one of the wooden posts that held the dock in place. She cursed Max and her attachment to him. Her jogging pants were starting to drag with the weight of the water they had soaked up. She pulled tight on the draw string and tied them in a double knot in order to keep them on.

It took her ten minutes to make her way down the dock towards the lights, and Max who stood growling at the boat.

"Well Max, thanks for waiting." Callie said as she reached out to grab him back by his collar. Max looked at her before leaping onto the boat and disappearing on her again. " And here we go again."

Callie followed Max onto the boat and went ass over tea kettle on the slippery surface. She pulled herself up off the ground and followed Max down some stairs. She heard shouts from below and the sounds of someone getting their head smacked in. Max let out a low growl, as she hushed him and turned back towards the upper deck.

Her hip was hurting and she knew that it would burse like bitch in a few hours. She remember seeing a piece of pipe laying on the deck among boxes, lobster traps and other things she could identify. Her mama didn't raise no fool. Callahan rule; you bring a knife to a gun fight; and you don't go out to play with the neighbours children unless you got something to swing. And she didn't intend to.

Callie found the pipe and ran her fingers over it. She felt the weight in her hand, and picked it up. She tossed it back and fourth between her hands as she walked back to the stairs. She held in her right hand, tucked up along her right arm. It was hidden in the sleeve of her windbreaker, no point showing off what you got.

As she made her way back to where she left Max, she pushed the hair out of her face that managed to escape the hair tie with the blowing wind. Max looked at her with what she thought was a look of annoyance.

She gave him the hand signal to follow as she walked ahead of him. Callie walked down the stairs to the lower level of the boat. They stopped when the came to a door that was ajar just enough that she could see three men and her 'well to do good' neighbour Mr. Duke Crocker. And unfortunately for Mr. Crocker he wasn't on the good end of the conversation they were having.

"I am going ask you once more, Duke." a rather large man said leaning over a tied up Duke. He had one ham sized hand on Duke's bloody face, holding it up so Duke's one good eye could look at him. " Where is the box?"

"Sorry boys," Duke replied with a laugh that Callie thought most wouldn't have in his situation. Clearly, Duke was amused by something that Callie couldn't see." Last I checked, your name really wasn't on the box."

The big burly man with the hands the size of hams, gave Duke what looked like a hard love tap but sounded like Duke's nose breaking. Callie caught a glimpse of light flash off a gold around the man's knuckles. At first she thought it was rings but as he turned she saw that it was brass knuckles.

"I think we should move this show on a little faster, Anderson." A smaller man said to the brass knuckle wielding man. The speaker was two inches taller then Callie, leaner in build and dressed better then the other two. He looked like he was higher up on the pecking order of things compared to his friends.

"I think we should cut off a couple of his fingers and see how willing he is to talk then. I think I like that idea very much, Markus. What about you Anderson?" The third man pulled out what Callie thought was a cigar cutter. He held it up to Duke's face so he could get a real good look at it.

Callie bit the inside of her mouth. There went the rest of her rent for the floating rust bucket. She turned to look at Max and gave him two signals as she moved to the left of him. Max let out a loud bark and nosed his way into the door.

The four men in the room stared at him for a moment before one of them cursed and went after him. Max backed out of the door way as the man with the cigar cutter came through the door way.

Callie swung as soon as she saw the man round the corner of the door. The pipe hit him full in the face, breaking his nose and she was sure part of his jaw. His hands went up to his face as he head went down and Callie brought the pipe down on his head with everything she had. He hit the floor the thud.

Callie stepped into the door frame, leaned against the side with the pipe tucked up the inside of her sleeve again. The two remaining men, stared at her with shock and Duke's one good eye was wide with surprise.

"Sorry to break up the sausage party boys," Callie said giving her best smile. "But Crocker here, did promise me dinner and I'm one hungry girl."

"Your going to be one dead girl, soon." Anderson replied moving towards her.

"Get in line fugly," Callie said as she ducked under his reach and swung the pipe at his head. She would have connected if the other man hadn't tackled her mid swing. The pipe smashed into the man's neck, dropping him to his knee's dazed but no unconscious.

Callie hit the ground hard, as the man she thought was called Markus grabbed a fist full of her hair and smashed her head into the ground while bashing her hand against the floor. She let got of the pipe and smashed her left fist into his head repeatedly. She could hear Max growling and the scream of the other man.

"It's going to be real fun killing you, my pretty little bitch." Callie felt his hands close over the throat, squeezing in a way that reminded her of a boa constrictor. She could feel her air being cut off and tried to pull his hands off her throat with no success. She gave up trying to pull his hands off her instead closed her eyes and pressed her hands to his chest.

Callie ignored the panic that welled up inside her, and pushed. She pushed everything she had to her hands. And when she had enough power there, she pulled back her barriers and pushed it into his body.

Markus's hands were ripped off her throat, and he flew back into metal wall.

Callie rolled over, coughing and gasping for air as she blindly reached for the pipe as her glasses were knocked off her face when she went down. She heard a yelp and then silence. She looked around for Max, knowing her dog was in trouble and all she could see was blurring object and the obscure outline of one Duke Crocker.

"Max?" Callie called out trying to push her self up. She was half way there when a strong hand wrapped itself around her hair and drove her face into the metal floor. The was a flash of burning pain and then there was nothing.


	3. Lamb for Dinner?

_Sorry for the long wait. I got distracted by a pretty boy with an English accent. I hope you like this chapter! _

Callie came awake in stages. First, came the groggy awareness that something was not right. The second stage began when her brain kicked in and let her know that her body was not quiet up to tip top shape, with the blinding pain that put spots in her eyes when she opened briefly in shock of first registering the pain. And finally the third stage and her least favourite; nausea due to the nasty amount of pain she was feeling. Callie clamped down her mouth as she felt the familiar feeling of dry heaving followed by the acidy taste in her mouth as she fought to keep down what little her stomach had not already digested.

Her face felt like it was on fire as she cautiously rolled to her side, stretching her hand out to try to push her self up to a sitting position. She crumbled, back onto the floor in a heap as a fresh way of pain rolled over her body. Once she realized she wasn't going away where too soon, she rolled onto her back. She raised one hand up to her face, feeling the right side of her face all puffed up. The bottom of her face was covered in dried caked on blood from her nose and the spilt lip she was sporting. Her throat burned like the fires of hell, and when she touched it she bit off a moan of pain.

Callie forced her eyes open, and she swore she saw the little yellow canary that always pops up on the Bugs and Tweety Show, fly around her head. She closed her eyes again and opened them. Tweety was gone but she still saw spots dancing in her vision.

"So, sleeping beauty awakes."

Callie turned her head slowly and squinted hard to focus in on a blurrily outline of what she thought was Duke, you know considering that it was the safest bet seeing that he was still tied to a chair and all.

"Where's Max?" Callie's questions came out more like a frog's croak would sound like. She had to repeat the question several times in order for Duke to understand her.

"The mangy horse with shark teeth that you brought in?"

"Who the fuck you callin mangy?" snapped Callie glaring at him the best she could. " That dog happens to be a pure breed bull massif buddy and a better person then you to boot. Where the fuck is he?"

" I think Anderson took him out of the room after he dropped you like a sack of potatoes. " Duke replied as he watched her close her eyes again and bite her lip. She looked pretty beat up. Her wind breaker was ripped, he suppose it happened during the scrap with Markus or it could have happened when Anderson put the boots to her after she blacked out. The only thing he could do while watching the big douche lay into her lifeless body was scream at him. And that only earned him a couple more smacks in the face.

Callie laid there for a moment, feeling the dread wash over her. The fear for Max, ate at her insides at an astonishing speed. The guilt of letting him down, failing to protect him from harm burned at her. Then finally came the white hot rage towards the man that hurt Max.

You could beat her to a bloody pulp but if you valued you life, you didn't fuck with her dog. She was suppose to protect Max, he had suffered enough through his short life. She was suppose to prevent this from ever happening again.

Callaghan rule; when someone fucks with you and yours, you fucked them twice over; then you go to work on them.

Callie thought to her self grimly, she intended to make her mama proud with the vengeance she was about reek on poor dumb Anderson and his buddy's.

Callie clenched her teeth together so hard she thought she was going to crack as she rolled back on to her back and forced her self to a sitting position then a standing one. She wobbled for a minute, half sure she was going to throw up her dinner or end up face down on the floor again. But she held her ground, and stayed on her feet.

"Where did my glasses end up?" Callie tried to look at Duke but her eyes were having problems focusing.

"In the corner over there I think."

"Stupid question," Callie looked behind her shoulder as she shuffled her way over to the corner Duke mentioned.

"You want to know why I am being held on my own boat by three complete idiots? It's simple really, I in import and export business. And at times, I might bend the rules on what's considered illegal material for concerned parties with the right amount liquid funds so to speak." Duke cut off the rest of Callie's question, thinking he already knew what she was going to ask." And these fine gentleman and I use that term loosely, think I have something that they want."

"Do you?"

The question hung in the air for a moment before Duke answered it.

"I have a box that I am importing for a friend of mine." Duke said looking at her as she found her glasses. " And, I can assure you, that friend is not among one of them."

"What was your great big plan, Crocker?" asked Callie as she placed her glasses on her face. The frames were a little bent, but she was pleased that the lenses weren't cracked. She really didn't have the money to get them fixed and it wasn't like she had a health care plan. Let's be real here, she didn't even have an id that had her birth name on it.

"I had one." Duke scowled at her, as she shuffled her way over to him. " And it didn't involve you charging in a playing white knight that's for sure."

"You don't do the damsel in distress well do you, Crocker?" Callie bent down, cursing softly under her breath at the pain it caused. She look at the knots that were keeping Duke tied to the chair. There was no way she was going to be able to get him free with just her hands.

"I, am hardly a damsel in distress." Duke assured her as he felt her cool hands touch his arms just above where his hands were tied. He had lost feeling in the hours ago, but he could still feel above the wrist, and he liked the way her small hands felt on his skin.

"Says the man tied to the chair." Callie smirked, torn lip panging with the effort. " You wouldn't, you know just happen to have a knife lying around this junk heap do you?"

"Junk heap? Watch you mouth, little girl." Duke was insulted. Sure his boat wasn't the most expensive but she was sea worthy and tested. A little rust added character, and he himself had fixed every dent, crack and broken valve on her. He was quiet protective of the only lady in his life.

"Or what, Crocker?" asked Callie as she moved around to face him. " Your going to magically going to get yourself untied and what, spank me? Hardly. You didn't have shit, and you know it."

" Didn't figure you liked that kind of kink, neighbour." Duke gave her a crooked grin " But I'm happy to oblige."

"So I've been told." Callie confirmed, giving him her own crooked grin. "Now, my actual question was I attempting to ask you before you interrupted me with your 'It's no their box' speal'"

"But it's not!"

"Does it look like I fucking care?" Callie looked at him," Cause I really don't. Are we moving? Or is that just my head messing me?"

"They left the dock a couple hours ago." Duke told her, as she sat down on her knees and bent over to check on the knots that held his legs to the chair. "Don't sit yet. I need you to get up and go over to that wall over there."

Duke nudged his head towards the left wall.

"Are you serious?" Callie was answered with silence. She frowned, and got up with much pain. She slowly walked over to the wall that he indicated. "Of course you would be."

"Run your hands over the paneling." Duke instructed, as he watched her with one eye. " No, over a bit more, to the right. That's it. Feel that seam? Push hard on it."

Callie felt a small seam, with her fingers. It ran length wise down to the floor. She pushed hard, but nothing happened. She turned to look at Duke with a look of expectation.

"That's a girl." Duke nodded, " Now slide the panel over to the left."

Callie placed her hands back on the panel and did as she was told. She was surprised to feel the panel give away, and slid to the left to reveal a sawed of shotgun, two hand guns, shells for each gun and a machete.

"Expecting friends I see."

"You can never been to careful in my line of business." Duke watched her pick up one hand gun, his 9mm and load the weapon with a familiarness he would not have expected of her. She clicked off the safety, holding the gun in her hand she picked up the machete with the other.

"Clearly." Callie made her way back over to Duke. She placed the gun beside her as she crotched down beside the back of his chair. Callie braced the tip of the blade against the rope at the base of his left wrist and began to saw. She ground her teeth together and held her breath when the pain from the jerky movements blinded her for a moment. The knife slipped and nicked Duke's arm. The watched as the thin cut welled with blood and bleed out.

"Do you think it is too much to ask, for you not to cut off my hand?" Duke hissed as he tried to turn his head enough to glare at her.

"Would you like to do this?" Callie shot back, glaring at the side of back of Duke's head. " Oh, wait, that's right, you can't."

"Why don't you do that freaky hand shit you did before?

Callie breathed in hard and closed her eyes. Well, she in the shit now, wasn't she? He was never suppose to see her use her power. Every part of her survival instinct, screamed at her to stand up and press the barrel of 9mm to the back of his head and pull the trigger.

The only good witness was a dead one.

And if she didn't kill him, there was a long list of people who would. At least death by her hand, would be quick and merciful.

"I think you got knocked around more then you think." Callie said as she started to cut the rope again. " Cause, I think your more then delusional, your talking crazy."

"I doubt that." Duke replied as he felt that godforsaken rope give way. His arms felt like dead weight as he stiffly pulled the around, from the back of the chair. He rubbed his hands together, trying to get feeling back into them. " I know what I saw, and you dear neighbour threw a man that out weighed you by at least 60 lbs into the air with nothing more then a push from you hand."

Callie stripped off her torn windbreaker, lifted up the bottom of her tank top that she slept in, and tucked the gun into the waist band of her trackers, at her back. She moved around Duke, til she was facing him. She crotched down and gave him a hard look as she took his hands from him. She took his right arm and started to massage feeling back into his arm, working down from the elbow to his hand.

"I need you to clear the cobwebs out of your head Crocker, and listen to me real good." Callie looked at him, with hard eyes. She reached up and brought his face real close to her own with on hand, the eye he could see out of was starring into her's unblinking. " You never saw anything. Your mind is playing tricks on you due to large amount of physical abuse it's sustained tonight. Do you understand, me?"

Duke starred down at Callie. Her face was so close to his, if he moved just a fraction of an inch downward, he would feel her plump lips on his. But considering he was sure, that he saw the thought of putting a bullet into his head cross her mind a few times, he really didn't think acting on his sexual impulses with her would keep him breathing any longer then sitting in that chair waiting for those idiots to make up their mind where to dump his body.

Duke said nothing, while Callie switched arms, and worked around his cut. It had stopped bleeding but was red with anger. He had started to get the painful pins and needle feeling back into his right arm, and he flexed his hand to help with the process.

"I know what I saw."

"If that's so, then a smart man wouldn't mention it again." Callie replied as she ducked her head, and stilling her movement. She looked up, glaring at him hard. " And a smarter man would have never mentioned it to begin with."

"I can help you." Duke lean down, reaching out to her, trying to pull her closer to him. " I know people."

"Crocker, feed that bullshit to someone who cares." hissed Callie as she moved away from him. She stood up and backed herself away from him, and the door. She reached around and grasped the handle of the gun, removing it from her pants. She held it at her side, in a silent warning. " You can't even help yourself."

Duke said nothing, clearly this was not the situation in which he had time to convince her, he meant no harm. After all, wasn't Haven the place where the troubled flocked? He stood and walked over to his secret hatch. He ran his hand down over the panel, before reaching in and grasping the shotgun. He loaded it with ease, then leaned it up against the wall. He loaded the other hand gun, checked the safety before placing it at the small of his back. He covered the gun with his shirt.

"It seems this is a conversation best had at another time, don't you think?" Duke asked her, giving her one of his trademark smirk's. " I was thinking dinner, tomorrow?"

"Your out of your freakin mind, Crocker." Callie stated. How in the hell did she get herself into this things? Small towns were suppose to be sleeping, boring and non eventful. This was not suppose to happen. She was suppose be able to disappear after Chicago. This was not disappearing.

"I was thinking, lamb shanks with asparagus, and a nice lemon sauce."

"I'm not going to be here tomorrow. " Callie put her finger on the trigger, and debate raising the gun and pulling the trigger. She could end it all right now, but that left her with an unseemly disadvantage with Duke's friends upstairs.

She needed him alive for the time being. And that ate at her.

"I think you are." Duke smiled as he cocked the shotgun. " You need to tie up loose ends, after all why would burn an good fake identity when you can just eliminate the paper trail."

"You realised that you just made yourself one of my loose ends?"

"I don't think you'll kill me." Duke moved towards her. His muscles were still stiff and screamed at him for the quickness he forced himself to move with. His long, lanky legs ate up the ground between him and Callie. " You need me, neighbour."

"For now." Callie held her ground as he crowded her. She would not take a step back, she refused be intimidated by him. " I need you for now."

"Well then, lets get this show on the road." Duke grinned at her. " I need to go shopping for lamb."

Callie glared at Duke's retreated back as he opened the door and left her standing in the room alone.

" I hate lamb." she muttered to no one as she followed him out the door.


	4. She don't Play

_Here's the next one. Thanks for the reviews/ story update adds! I had to spilt this chapter into two, as it had gotten too long. Just have to apologize for the wrong wording of the area on a boat where the captain steers. For the life of me, I can not find the correct term for this place on a boat, hence the lame name of 'Captain's area'. If someone knows this term could you please tell me so I can correct this error. I've searched everywhere for terms of places on a boat but no luck for me! _

_Enjoy! _

* * *

They crept along the corridor, listening as they walked. The foot steps hardly made a sound, as they moved.

When the approached the stairs, that lead up to the deck, Callie reached out, grabbing a hold of Duke's arm and pulling him back. She pointed to his one bad eye and motioned to her two good eyes. He nodded and let her go ahead of him.

She flexed her hands on the handle of the gun and cracked her neck. She ignored the natural feeling the gun in hands, and tried to focus on the situation at hand, forcing herself to forget the memories of past times with other guns.

Callie stepped on the stairs and flinched at the creaking noise the step made when she stepped on it. She turned back and glared at Duke as if the creaky step was his fault. He shrugged his shoulders and she continued up the stairs with out any further noise.

Callie held her breath as she reached the door that lead to the deck. She took one hand off her gun, and turned the handle of the door slowly. It seemed like it took forever to open the door a inch or two.

She listened through the crack for noises but only heard the waves breaking against the boat. There were no voices, and the deck was silent. Callie turned her head, nodded in the direction of the door and opened the fully enough to slip through.

The rain had stopped, thank god; but the deck was slick and wet. She chose her steps carefully and prayed she wouldn't got ass over tea kettle again. That would not be stealthy in the least.

Duke watched Callie slink across the deck, her body low to the ground, and gun at her side. He waited till she had reached the other side, and was crocheted behind a group of wooden transport boxes.

He waited in till she motioned with her hand, for him to come out. He crossed the deck in long strides, his legs eating up the deck as he made his way over to her. He crocheted beside her and let out a baited breath.

He just wanted this thing over and cold fucking beer. Was that too much to ask?

Callie held up two fingers, and pointed to the Captain's area on the boat. Duke looked up, his eyes scanning the captains area, his area and saw two men, Anderson and Markus.

"Where's number three?" he asked her, keeping his voice to a mere whisper.

"Whoa, hold up. Give me a minute here." Callie put her hand up to her temple and closed her eyes. As she opened them, she glared at Duke." Oh that's right, I forgot. I'm not a fucking mind reader. "

"Temper, temper." grinned Duke. " Just a question, there neighbour."

"You want to know where number three is?" asked Callie, as she shifted her weight around. " Let's find out."

Before he could say anything much less do something, she was moving. Gun raised, pointed directly at the glass of his captain's area. She fired twice, the glass exploding and the gun shot rang out in the night. Her aim was true, she had fired a gun enough to expect the kick back and accounted for it. Callie didn't like guns, but understood enough that in her life you didn't always get to choose to be the nice fair girl. The ruthless bitch often got the point across far better.

And she wasn't feeling very nice at the moment.

Besides, dead from a bullet just meant you were normal bad guy. Dead from a mysterious circumstances that could not be explained by science or modern technology meant your were a freak who was looking at life being dissected by the government.

So Anderson took one bullet in the shoulder and the other in the ribs. He dropped like a sack of bricks. Markus returned fire. He fired three consecutive shots in Callie's direction. Callie moved with precision and speed that Duke hadn't thought possible for a human. But if you consider what he had seen her do early, clearly she wasn't.

When you lived in Haven, these things were to be expected, Duke figured.

Callie did an impressive run and roll, landing herself behind another pile of stacked boxes. She pressed her back against the boxes, slouching down as bullets whizzed over the boxes and into a wooden barrel behind her. She turned her head and saw Duke glaring at her.

"They are shooting up my fucking boat!" Duke hissed as he crotched lower so that their was plenty of room between the top of his head and the top of the box. Markus couldn't shoot worth shit apparently and was firing at everything. "Gertie does not desired this!"

"He's going to have to reload sometime." she said between gun shots. "Who is Gertie?"

"Before or after he kills us with rebounding bullet's."

A third voice broke in their argument. The third man had appeared on the deck, gun draw and ready for action.

Callie shot Duke a smug look and mouthed him a 'told you so.'.

" Come out, come out pretty little girl." the man called out, scanning around the boat. " Come play with me."

"If you insist." Callie muttered to herself as she popped up from the boxes and squeezed off a few rounds causing the third man to hit the ground and roll away. Callie advanced on him, gun held in a firm grip and kicked out at his out stretched arm. She didn't think a bullet hole to head would improve her looks at all. The gun flew to the side of the boat, hitting the metal side hard and rebounded towards them.

Callie didn't wait for the gun to slide its way back over to them, she didn't want to give him another opportunity to pick up the gun and shoot her. She brought her foot down hard on his face, crushing his nose flat. The ruthless part of her, enjoyed hearing the crunch of bone and the way the blood seeped onto his face. She wound back up again and kicked him hard in the side of the head, aiming for his temple. She wanted him out of commission, but not dead.

Ruthless as she may be, she didn't think she looked good in a orange jumpsuit.

She heard Duke behind her somewhere. She was vaguely aware of him swearing under his breath. Apparently, he didn't like it when women took risks.

"You could have let me help you." he muttered behind her.

"Don't know you well enough to." Callie chuckled.

"Whose fault is that, neighbour?"

Markus had made his way down from the Captain's area and onto the deck. But by the time he reached the third man Callie, she had him face down on the ground with a gun pointed at his head. He's got his gun in his hand, and it's pointed straight at her head.

Duke walked over to her, and scooped up the man's gun with a quick grin. He tucked it into the back of his waist band and backed himself up, never taking his eyes or his gun off Markus til he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Callie.

"Well now, I think the tide has turned." Duke shot Callie a quick grin.

"Not yet, Crocker." mumbled Callie looking at Markus's rage clearly out on display.

"Throw your gun down." Duke ordered, his finger lightly pressed on the trigger, gun aimed straight for Markus. His gut jumped up into his throat for the long minutes he watches Markus debate obeying the order. He knows Markus's type, can smell the desperation rolling off him. " That wasn't an option."

"So you can shoot me?" Markus hissed out, gun still pointed at them. "You must have taken me for an idiot."

"Well you did steal my boat, piss of my neighbour and well then there was that whole thing about attempting to take a box that isn't yours." Duke replied.

"Oh for the love of god don't get him started on the stupid box thing again. He never shuts up about it!"

"Hey!" Duke hisses out of the corner of his mouth. "Why are you always picking on me?"

Callie rolls her eyes before Markus cuts into their banter.

"What makes you think I am going to do anything you want?" he asked them.

"Oh, my bad." replied Callie, " I thought he owned he boat. That you make you Captain right? And if you don't throw your gun down towards Duke, I'm going shot your brother, cousin or whatever the hell he is to you in the head. Then Duke here, is going to put a bullet in your head."

"Sounds like a good plan to me." Duke agreed, although his stomach did a little nervous flop when she mentioned him putting a bullet into Markus's head. He would do it, he knew he had it in him but shooting a man in the head before dinner wasn't something he did often or really wanted to do.

" I don't think so." Markus gave a small smile. He didn't know how this smart mouthed bitch figured out that Daniel was his brother but he really didn't care. He figured he had about 10 more seconds before the trigger happy chick from popped him one. But he had been in the business of breaking knee caps long enough that you always had an ace up your sleeve." Not if you want your mangy dog."

"What is it with everyone calling my dog mangy?" Callie narrowed her eyes." I'm going to spell it out for you, so pay attention. I will kill your boy without a second thought if you don't tell me where Max is."

" I think you really want your dog alive."

Callie bent down at the knees, and reached toward the unconscious man and pulled the man over from his stomach. She rapped her fingers around a large chunk of this thick black hair and yanked his head up to her knee's, giving Markus a good look at his face. She forced the gun into the man's mouth, without little care and maybe a bit to much force. Her hand was steady, eyes were cold and dead, her face was blank. There was a part of her that wouldn't think twice when pulling the trigger.

This man meant nothing. Max was everything to her.

"Do you think I am fuckin around here?"

Markus recognized this look, he had perfected a version of it himself. This was a look of person who was familiar with putting a bullet into someone and thinking nothing of it. He had under estimated Crocker and his friend.

"I think you should do what the lady asks." Duke said, clearly his neighbour meant business." Where is her dog?"

"I don't think you know how to play this game. I tell you where the mutt is, then your not going to let me go. Your going to call you fancy little FBI friend and here I am spending 10 years for kidnapping."

" What thinks I'll let you make it to shore?" Callie threatened. " And from you serious lack of proper kidnapping skills, I'm sure your employer would thank me. Don't mistake me for weak willed woman, Markus. Hear my words, I make this offer one more time. If you don't tell me where Max is I will make the last moments of your like the very worse you have ever experienced. "

"So your offering me a nice, quick death or a slow torturous death?" he asked, clearly not to impressed with her options.

"Or the inside of a jail cell." Duke told Markus. He figured Audrey and Nathan would give him less hassle if he didn't returned to his boat blood stained and three dead bodies. " I suggest you make up your mind before your colleague up there suffers a fatal death from blood loss."

"The barrel on the starboard side of the boat." Markus finally says after a few long, moments pause. He took a moment longer to throw the gun at Duke's feet. It was a bad throw, Callie thought it was no doubt done on purpose.

Duke scooped a long piece of rope he had lying on the deck of the boat for some reason or another. He walked towards Markus as Callie aimed the gun at Markus, covering Duke's back as he approached Markus slowly.

"Hands behind your head, Markus." Duke told the other man, his stomach giving a little jolt as he said the words. He always wanted to say the next line that stumbled out of his mouth." Assume the position."

"Heard that one a lot there, Crocker." smirked Callie as she watched Duke tie Markus's hands behind his back with some nifty sailor's knot that she needed to learn, and walk him over to one of the metal poles that held up the Captain's area.

"Not as often as you like to think." Duke tossed a cheeky grin over his shoulder at her. " You can say it to me anytime. Go get Max."

"Tie the other two up." Callie refused to answer his sexual banter as she hurried past him to where Max was suppose to be. She heard him mumble a reply but couldn't make out the words or wanted to for that matter.


	5. What's my Name?

There were a couple of barrel's in the area that Markus indicated. All were too small for a dog Max's size. He was well fed, Callie made sure of that, she didn't think one of those barrel's could fit him.

If he was in there, he would be crammed down in one, alone and in the dark. The thought ate at her, as she scrambled to pry off one of the barrel's lid's hoping Max was inside. He hated the dark, almost as much as he hates thunderstorms.

"Fuck!" Callie yelled in frustration and she tried to dig her finger's into the seem of the lid to pull it off. When she pulled her hands away, she could see where she had tore the skin away from her nails. Blood stained the wood of the barrel as she tried again and again.

"Crowbar, please say you have a crowbar." mumbled Callie as she glanced wildly around the deck for something to help pry the lid up. She spotted a long, blue crowbar in the corner behind some boxes. She ran over towards it and wrapped her hand around it. She ignored the pain in her back and legs as she hurried over to the barrel and jammed the curved end into the crease of the lid.

She was jimmying it up when Duke came around the corner. He could see the blood running down her arms, her face was strained with effort and wild panic he had yet to see her display for her own safety. She was putting all her weight on the crowbar, and as he neared her he heard the lid pop.

Callie threw the bar down and shoved the lid off. She looked down into the barrel and it was filled with a couple bags of onions and what looked like a box underneath them.

"Did you check the barrel's for weight?" Duke asked as he grabbed one furthest from her, and moved it around a bit to judge the weight.

"What?" Callie asked confused at what he had said.

"The weight of the barrel." Duke replied as he tested the last barrel. It felt heavier then the last. He had a good suspicion that this was the barrel Max was in. Duke held his hand out for the crowbar, that Callie scooped up and practically threw at him. " The heavier the barrel the more likely it's the one that holds your dog. Lighter equals no dog."

Callie watched as he wedged the crowbar into the crack around the lid. He wiggled the edge of the crowbar with more ease then she had managed it. If she wasn't so caught up in the panic of the thought of Max, alone in a tight, dark, cramped space possibly dead she would have thought of that.

"Hurry, please."

Duke heard the way her voice catch, with her plea, and tried to ignore the twang of guilt in his stomach. He didn't figure she was the type of person who said please that often or ever. He had the edge of the crowbar in place and pushed down with everything he had in him. The lid popped open, smooth and easy like.

Duke didn't even have time to pull the crowbar out of the way before Callie had the lip thrown off and was looking inside. He saw the look of relief on her face before fear replaced it.

"I can't tell if he's breathing, shit." Callie said as she began to tip the barrel down towards the ground. " Help me put it down."

Duke grabbed his end and helped her lower it down to the ground. He watched her reach in and pull the dog out by the scruff of his neck. He walked around the barrel so her could see Max better.

Callie still had Max's scruff in her hands as she tried to turn him over so she could see if he was breathing. She felt along his rib cage, praying to feel it move. She brought her hands to his chest and laid one near the his elbow joint and waited. God, she would give everything up just to be alive.

"Is he breathing?" Duke asked as he ran his hands along Max's body. He could feel a light he pulse along side the inside of the dog's hind leg. He knew enough that it was faint enough that he didn't think Max was going to make it. "Shit."

"Come on, Max." Callie, laid down beside him and pulled his head towards her face. She breathed in his scent, a mixture of earthy pines, sea air and wet dog. She took it into her lungs and forced herself to breathe and calm herself. She knew Max was almost out of fight. But she wasn't ready to let him go." Don't you dare bitch out of me now."

If she could just get calm enough, focus enough she could do it. She may not have a lot of her mother in her to make what she was going to do work but she was going to try her hardest or die trying. But god damn it to hell, she was the daughter of Clearance Callahan, the best healer the east coast has ever seen and Max was the only person that mattered.

Callie had seen her mother do this, only once. When she was five but the memory was clear, distinct as if engraved in her brain for a reason. Her brother Cale had be brought down by the people who hunted her family and other family's like hers. She remembered her father carrying his body to her mother in the back room. She wasn't suppose to be there, she was suppose to be watching little three year old Shawny but she was scared and wanted her mama.

Her mother held him close, forehead to forehead and literally breathed life back into his body. And almost killed her self in the process.

Her father, Cade Sr. later told her when he put her to bed, in a different town, a few nights later, under a different name attached to a different story, that the closer to death a person is the more it takes from mama to bring them back.

His words echoed in her mind, _'The more you gave, the harder it is to fight your way back_'

And she was going to give her all.

She closed her eyes, and forced her self to ease the tension in her shoulders. She heard Duke talking to her, but she made herself tune him out. She eased her self deeper into her quiet place, hearing only Max's faint inhale and exhale. She felt his soft, wet fur against her face and centered herself.

She waited for what seemed like forever. And then she could feel it. It was a sensation she couldn't even begin to describe. It felt like water, streaming over your body but from the inside, like it was pouring out of it. She pushed hard, with everything she had. There was no pain, just the feeling of slowly emptying till there wasn't anything left inside.

Callie didn't know how to stop once she started. She wasn't even sure if it working in till felt the hot smelly doggy breath on her face and the worse pain she's ever felt. It felt like a elephant was on her chest, and the pain she had felt earlier in her face was nothing to what she felt now. Whatever they had done to Max, she felt it now and she now understood what her mother did.

And what it cost her.

Callie understood pain. She had learned the value pain early on. If you felt it, you still had a chance to fight through it. It was when you felt nothing, you were in trouble. To far gone to care, and not enough will power to claw your way back up that back hole.

She groaned and tried to lift her hand to swat Max's drooling tongue away from her face, but only could cough up some blood. Callie felt like a truck backed over her, then decided to reverse just to make sure it hit her. No wonder her mother never tried to go that far when she healed someone.

"Hey," Duke leaned in close to her face, whipping away the blood from her chin and lips with his t-shirt, she felt his hand on her forehead and it felt good." Your not going to like die on me are you?"

Callie tried to laugh but it hurt to damn much and she just ended up spitting more blood on him and herself. She went to sit up but couldn't even hold herself up. She wasn't running anytime soon that's for sure.

" I'll try not too." Callie tried to assure him. " Just a little scratch. Be alright and topside in a jiffy."

"Where do you come up with those sayings?"

"You know, the back of cereal boxes." Callie bit out as Duke gave Max a gentle shove out of the way so he could scoop her up into his arms. "Such a gentleman."

"Shut up." Duke muttered as he headed down the dock and towards the stairs that would lead him to his cabin below. "Your going to have to tell me you name, you know."

Callie had her eyes closed, the movement of Duke walking was making her head hurt even more, and between the motion and the pain that he caused by carrying her, she was getting nauseous. She tried to think of one of her false identities, searching her mind for the one she used here in Haven, but a dozen small east coast towns in the last two years ran together and began to blur.

Was she Sarah O'Neil or Isabella Lima? Did she give old man McAlister the name of Abbey Alwright or Rulie Hallahan. To many names, to many lies to remember. Her head hurt so much.

"Callie." the name slipped out before she could really stop it. She was about to correct herself but as Duke turned the corner to head down the stairs, he misjudged to door frame and connected her head to the hard metal frame." Mother fucker."

"Sorry, sorry." Duke apologised, shifting her weight in his arms. Damn it, he was not good at the white knight routine as he used to be. "I'm sorry Callie."

It was weird to hear her given name spoken by anyone. It had been years since she had seen her family, to hear her name pass from someone's lips. She had almost forgotten what it sounded like.

Duke's long legs made quick work of getting them to his cabin below deck. Callie was starting to slip out of it by the time he laid her down in his bed. Her dark hair looked nice against his green pillow cases and he tried real hard not to think how good she would look naked on his black sheets. From the feel of her body when he carried her here, he would really enjoy her naked. But he figured it would take a lot more then one dinner with this woman.

"Crocker."

Duke snapped out of his perverted fantasy of taken advantage of his neighbour, and looked at her face. It was kind a weird greeny gray now that he look at it harder.

"I think I'm going to puke."

Well that just killed his sexual fantasy.

He brought her over a small garbage pail and within seconds of him putting it there, she was over it and emptying out her stomach. Max whinned and jumped up on the bed. He started to paw at her. Callie reached back and rubbed her hand along his side to settle him.

Duke went over to the sink and opened a drawer. He pulled out a clean cloth and wet it with some cold water. He reached into a cabinit and retrieved a glass and filled that two. He handed her the wash cloth and set the water down the nightstand beside the bed.

Callie tried to track him with her eyes but it was to hard to focus.

Duke went into the washroom and returned with a small white pill in his hand. He handed it to her and waited for her to take it. Which she didn't.

"Aspirin, Callie." he said as she narrowed her eyes at him before swallowing it with a gulp of water. "Sleep. I've got to turn the boat around and settle our friends upstairs before we get to shore."

Callie lay back on the bed and felt Max settle beside her. Duke reached over the bed and took her glasses off her face and placed them beside the wash cloth and the glass of water.

Her eyes were closed and he was certain she was out but when he headed for the door, he could have swore she muttered something that sounded like lamb.

He shook his head and headed for the stairs that lead up to the deck.


	6. Indecent Proposal's

It was week after the incident on Duke's boat. Callie was hurting, there was no denying that. Her hands were all kinds of messed up, ribs hurt like a son of a bitch and she was felt like she was bruised from head to toe. Her face still looked like it had been used for a punching bag, and that was a true statement if she ever heard one, but most of the swelling had gone down. She had required stitches alone hair line of he head and in various places on her hands but she figured that was an acceptable loss compared to what could have happened.

Callie moved slow, when she had to and preferred not to as it made her resemble a 90 year old woman. Her scans were clean, and she was released from the hospital after two nights of observation. Which she was less then happy about.

Duke had forced her to the emergency room, practically waving a gun in her face once they were tied in the harbour. He told her one the way to the hospital, driving fairly erratically in her opinion that he had cut a deal with their three friends.

Crocker had dropped them off at an inlet 40 miles out from Haven. With no medical supplies beside the bare minimum and with the warning that he would kill them if he saw them again.

Callie didn't think he appreciated her telling him he was a fucking idiot and he should have been man enough to put two bullets in their heads, weighed the bodies down in the ocean and been done with it.

And if he didn't have the balls to do it himself, he should have woken her up and she would have done it.

His reply was for her to 'shut up and not die.'

Callie was wondering why the hell she was still here, especially when FBI Audrey Parker had started making drop bys to the boat every other day.

Today was one of those days, in fact.

Sure to true form, Parker had come bearing the identity that Callie had been floating around town, on her first visit to the North Star. She also drop a few hints that she had run Callie's false name through the system and had come up with nothing.

Good to see she had spent her money well in New Mexico.

Callie sat in the old fold up chair on the deck of the boat, her feet propped up on an old wooden box she had found somewhere on the deck and was in the middle of a novel when Audrey stopped in front the boat of the wooden dock. She was bundled up with a thick wool sweater she had picked up last year from a second hand store in Portland. Long dark jeans with a ripped knee sat low on her hips and she wore her favourite green hat on her head, keeping her dark brown hair from flying every which way in the New England wind.

She had seen Audrey, also bundled up to the nines, walking down the dock in her direction and had debated heading back inside to avoid her, but she thought Audrey would take that as a invitation to come aboard the boat.

"Little crisp for a morning read, isn't it?" Audrey asked, looking down at the big, stretched out dog, and the brunette set on ignoring her. She took a good look at Callie's face, checking out how the healing was going on the only visible part of her body. It was coming along better then she expected it too.

"For some yes." Callie turned the page with a bandaged hand, and took a drink from her tea with the other as she balanced the book on her knee's. "Should I even ask why you are here, or are you expecting a invite for cookie and tea?"

"Do you have cookies?" Audrey raised an eyebrow. The brunette in front of her reminded her of Duke in so many ways, rough around the outside, weary of the law and had that smart ass quirk down pat. But she wore Duke down, mostly and she would do the same to this girl if need be.

Audrey didn't like secrets, she had to many in her life for someone else's and nobodies record is that clean.

" I have dog biscuits if your interested. Lots of protein in them." Callie gave Audrey a smug smile as Max's ears perked up at the word biscuits. Callie looked from the agent to Max. " Not on your life, buddy. I'm still mad at you."

Audrey gave Callie a brief fuck you smile before chewing on her bottom lip before replying. " I know something happened on Duke's boat the other night, during the storm."

"Do you now?" Callie held the cup to her lips and took another drink. The hot liquid warmed her throat as is ran down. The ginger and honey help the soreness she felt. A lot had happened on that boat, but Audrey knew none of that. Duke made sure of that, and Callie wondered if Parker was just discovered that the Crook's Code was a little thicker then her friendship with Crocker.

"I'm not here to play games. I just want the truth." the blonde glared down at her. She was loosing what little patience she had with this girl. Duke could spin that story he told her and Nathan out of gold and it would be no less the truth as half the stories he had told her in the past. Duke didn't tell the truth, he wasn't capable. The closet you got with Duke Crocker to the truth was a half truth half lie. It was just his nature as it was in hers to push, prod, and pick at something till it was the truth and nothing but.

The boat rocked, and rolled with light waves hitting it metal side. The wind was light compared to the winter storm that had rolled in days earlier. The sun was out, and it would have been peaceful day to spend outside reading if a certain blonde bombshell of cop would get hint and piss off.

"I'm fairly certain that Crocker did indeed fill you in while I was getting stitched up in the hospital about what happened the night of the storm. And if memory severs me right, and it usual does I do believe I gave my statement to your lovely partner Detective Wournos. I'm sure he passed that along to you." Callie replied smiling at the expression on Audrey's face. It did make her crisp morning slightly bright by putting that annoyed look on the blonde cop's face.

She was her father's daughter after all.

"I think there's more to tell, then mistimed joy ride on the rough sea's. I doubt that Duke's windshield was trashed like that from wind and water." Audrey told her, using the voice Duke least liked; her cop voice. The only one she seemed to have. " We both know this would be better for you if you just cooperated with me."

" See, now this is what makes me dislike cops." Callie put her half finished mug down on the turned over empty crate she used as a table, saved her page in the book, and stood up. " Don't come up, all at me with you high and mighty bullshit Parker. I'm not buying. I'm not interested. And I really don't fucking care about your little quest for truth and justice. I gave my statement to your partner like I said before, if you find any discrepancies between my version of events and Crocker's bring me down to the station. In till then, stop the little visit's, we're not old friends and your really not my type."

Audrey had to give it to the petite brunette. She had balls, pretty big ones and mouth to go along with it. " Not your type for what exactly."

"To date. To fuck, friends with benefits whatever you keep coming down here for." Callie snapped her fingers, and Max rose to his feet. He cased Audrey a look, and sulked his way into the hallway that lead down to the gallery of the boat. " Clearly you daily visits down are for a reason."

"Your not my type for that either, Callie." Audrey could not believe what had just come out of that girls mouth. She watched Callie's face with a keen interest when she said the name Duke kept calling his intriguing neighbour." But what I am curious is why Duke calls you Callie and MacAlister knows you as Isla Ferguson?"

Callie was going to break Duke Crocker's face in when she saw him next. This was all his fault and he damn well knew what he was he about when he stopped round her place after she left the hospital. " Family nickname, although I don't see how that's much interested to you, Parker."

"There's a lot about you that interested me." Audrey told her, looking down at her again. She didn't catch her own double meaning till it was to late.

"Funny, your not the first one to deny being attracted to me, but my previous statement stands. Your not my type." With that Callie left the FBI agent standing with her mouth open in protest to her comment and went below deck.

Duke almost choked on the mouthful chai latte he had in his mouth. He had just taken a drink out of one of the two paper cups he had in his hand when he had heard the last five minutes of the conversation between Audrey and Callie. The wind had carried most of it down the dock, and he could not believe what he was hearing.

"Audrey, are you hitting on Callie?" Duke asked his preferred law enforcement agent with a sly grin on his face.

Audrey turned to face him, with a scowl that could have rival Nathan's any day. " No, I wasn't. I was having an incredible frustrating conversation with your new friend, about your little joy ride a few days ago."

"Can I watch next time you hit on Callie?" Duke asked as he purposely avoiding making a comment about his 'little joy ride'. Audrey had taken a habit of using her rather regular nightly visits to the Gull to re question him about that nights events.

"I wasn't hitting on her." Audrey repeated again. "Are one of those coffee's for me?"

Duke, took another sip of the hot heaven in a cup and gave a small sad smile at Audrey. " If I had known you were down here, indecently proposing to my neighbour I would have brought you one. The other one is for you would be girlfriend."

"Then I guess I can use this opportunity to ask you some questions on how your glass became broken on your boat." Audrey moved to block his access to the boat.

"In that case, hope you like earl grey tea with honey." Duke thrust the cup into Audrey's hand as he step around her and onto the North Star. He tossed over his shoulder before he disappeared down below the deck. " See you around Audge."

Audrey watched her crooked friend leave the deck and wondered for a moment if Duke hadn't found a friend, more devious then he.


	7. Ten ways to Kill Someone

Duke made his way down the narrow stairs that lead to the captain's cabin and the galley. He knew his way about the boat fairly well from his previous visit's in the last week. Some with Callie awake and spitting at him like a corner alley cat and some where she was doped up, asleep on pain meds.

This one was probably going to be one of the latter. Duke wasn't really one of Callie's favourite people right now, all things considered he really couldn't blame her for being a bit on the grouchy side. He would probably be just a nasty if someone was black mailing him too.

But he had to do something to keep her here, didn't he?

He didn't have an explanations for his behavior, it probably would be better for him for her to disappear like she wanted. But when he looked at her, passed out on his boat, bloody, pale and so vulnerable there was a longing for her. Duke's relationships with women usually didn't last longer then a few nights tops, and generally as a rule are light on the conversation and heavy on the sex. He charms, he seduces and then he leaves. Everybody is satisfied.

But he wants to know what Callie's story is, wants to help her and he doesn't know why. Duke looks out for Duke, always has and damn sure always will. So it's a mystery to him why he has protective urges for a dangerous potentially deadly woman.

Oh, Callie didn't think much of his mid night proposal from a couple nights back but then again he didn't like it much when she pulled a gun on him either. She went off like fire cracker when she found out that he had been threw the boat and not only found her scattered stash of guns but had removed the bullets from the clips while she had been in a doped up coma earlier.

He thought he was paranoid with his little secret hatch on his boat. But really, that was for his safety. How could she be mad?

Duke had to give it to the girl, she was well thought out for sure. A dozen different false identifications, for multiple states and even a few international i.d's to boot. Whoever she paid, knew their craft well because he had never seen a better made i.d before. Callie had cash, untraceable guns, silencers and mulitiple i.d's all ready to help her disappear. She was no novice at living an untraceable life.

Duke was fairly certain that she was plotting to kill him. But he figured, she needed something to do all day while he was plotting on how to get her into bed. And figure out why he wanted to help her.

They all needed their hobbies.

"Brought you a coffee but had to sacrifice to Audrey." Duke told her coming into the galley. He found Max chewing on the large raw hide bone he had left him the previous day in the corner of the room. Callie was at the beginnings of making a sandwich, which meant he got here right at the right time. "Making enough for two?"

"Only if you like arsenic in yours." replied Callie levelling him with a ice cold look. She opened the tub of butter and buttered one slice of bread before layering on sliced turkey, havarti cheese and lettuce. She slapped the other piece of bread over top of the lettuce and brought the sandwich up to her mouth for a bit.

"Still not happy about our conversation the other night?" Duke asked as he moved forward to try and snag the sandwich from her.

"Still blackmailing me into staying here in Haven? I think we have a yes." Callie backed away and dodged out of Duke's reach. "And since we're on the winning topic of shit you've done to piss me off in the last four days, stop calling me Callie in from of your two best friends."

"Why, Callie's your name right?" Duke put down the latte and moved to make himself his own sandwich since she wouldn't share. " Or would you rather I call you by your cover?"

"Well considering that's the fucking name that's on all my records in the hospital, which by the way is your fault, yeah I thought calling me by Isla you know wouldn't have been the intelligent thing to do." Callie bit out at him.

" Yes, I agree but if you don't tell me why you need a cover I can't help you." Duke stated as he brought the sandwich up to his mouth and took a big bite. He chewed and continued." She doesn't know Callie is your birth name, and since your false identity is some impressive work I don't think you have much to worry about."

"I never asked you for help." Callie stressed each word, glaring at him furiously." I don't need, want or have any desire for you to help me with anything. All I want from you Duke Crocker is for you to forget what ever you think you saw on your rust bucket of a boat and fuck off out of my life." Callie bit savagely into her sandwich and then wished she didn't. Her jaw was sore and she knew should be eating soup but between Parker and Crocker she was spitting mad and didn't think about food choices." I want to get the hell out of Haven. And for the record, Parker shouldn't even know my real birth name."

"I don't think it matters much want you want." Duke gave her a roguish grin, and moved from the galley area to her bedroom. " We have an agreement between like minded individual's. Your going to stay in Haven, till I'm good and ready for you to leave. Your going to work at the Gull once your all patched up of course. And your not going to kill me either."

Callie gave Duke a wolfish grin, showing a row of perfectly straight white teeth. " I never said I wouldn't kill you Crocker. In fact I fall asleep every night plotting how you will meet your end. Right now I'm leaning towards putting a pillow over your head and blowing your brains out while you sleep but knocking out unconscious then tying cylinder blocks to you legs and drowning you is close second."

"Well call it a professional curtsy then." Duke continued to smile but kept his distance from her. " You have a very vivid imagination, you know that."

"Not imagination, tried, tested and true method's of getting rid of a witness.

"I thought you'd say that." Duke nodded as he took another bite of his impromptu lunch. He waves his sandwich in her general direction." It hurts just a little bit that you want to kill me."

"It annoys me just a little bit that you are blackmailing me with no proof of these so call events you think you saw." Callie finished off the last bit of her sandwich with a grimace and walked over to the counter where he left his cup and took a drink.

Yes, she knew full well she could disappear with out looking back, once Duke sold his story of freakish events to whatever news stations would take him. There might be a grainy picture of her face flashed on the screen but the media wouldn't find her. She change her hair colour, her name, the colour of her eyes. Maybe go up to Canada, she had heard British Columbia was a nice place this time of year or maybe Nova Scotia. She would be fine.

Duke on the other hand would be deader then a doornail within the week. He'd flash his mouth off, because Callie seriously doubted he was bluffing and then the wrong kind of people would come looking. And when they didn't find her, they would work him. Work him in ways, that would make those three thugs look like the amateurs they were.

Crocker thought she maybe owed people drug money, or had an abusive ex. At the most, maybe was got involved with the mob but he had no idea how much worse it could get.

She was being hunted. Like you hunted a wild deer in the woods. Callie had a permeate target on her back since the day she was born because of the difference between her family and the normal's.

" I think you like Haven, just a little bit." Duke walked over to her and took his drink from her. He swallowed a mouthful before handing it back to her. " I think you like me, just a bit more then a little bit."

"As previously stated in our last conversation. I think your fucking crazy." Callie said looking up at him. She meets his eyes and knows, that neither of them are done with each other and that the only person who is going to shoot Duke Crocker is her. But she doesn't know why.

"I'll stop by later, to see how your healing." Duke told her, smiling down at her scowl. She looked better then she did the night he dropped his great big scheme on her. But he figured that mostly was because she had just woken up from drug induced sleep and had drool smeared on her face. "You look better."

"Do you want to hear the other eight ways to kill someone and not get caught?"Callie askes Duke as he moves towards the door.

Duke smiles and replies. " You can tell me tomorrow, over dinner."

Callie says nothing as he turns his back and walks out of her living space. She hears him on the stairs, then on the deck above, then nothing. Callie looks at Max, whose looking back at her. He's got his head cocked a bit crooked and he's giving her one of his best doggie faces. "Shut up, this is still all your fault."


	8. Bets & Gossip

_Two weeks later _

Callie had taken Max out for a walk, figuring it would do them both good to get out of the boat. It had been a while since she had taken him for a walk. Duke, had been performing his neighbourly duty as he liked to call it but stopping by more often then she'd like, snagging Max's leash and disappearing with her dog for hours on end.

He didn't come empty handed either. Some times it was just a book, or bag of grocery's. A cup of tea that he knew she liked from riffling through her cupboards, a bar of chocolate or that one time he came with a flower.

She couldn't shake Duke, she had tried to shake like a dog trying to shake a flea. He dug in and held on for reason's beyond her understanding. It didn't bother her as much as she let on. It wasn't like she hadn't entertained the idea of finding a spot that was hers, a place where she belonged. Where she was safe. But Callie knew better, oh boy did her know.

After all wasn't that how her brother Cale had died. Got himself a pretty redhead wife, the two point five kids and the white picket fence. Wasn't more then five years and they found them. Now Cale and that pretty redhead wife of his are dead, and no one knew where the kids where. Callie had her suspicions, the five families did always like to recruit young. Easy to train a kid to do what they want to do.

No, Callie would find out what the hell Duke wanted, give it to him and be gone before winter's end. Safer for the both of them, and the town of Haven.

Before the incident on Duke's boat, Callie had taken Max for leisurely two hour walks, sometimes twice a day. They would leave the harbour, head into town window shop a bit before walking the trails that weaved their way around the town and the bluff that over looked the harbour.

Today was a shorter version, only heading up to town then she meant to head back. But she was waylaid by some Haven locals.

"Miss, miss." a man who was three maybe four inches stopped her on the street. He was balding, wearing large round glasses and was in his early sixties or close to it." I have a favour to ask you."

Callie looked at the camera he was holding in his hands and shook her head." Sorry, I'm kinda late."

"It won't take that long. Hey, I know you." the man said turning away from her to shout something to someone behind her. "Vince, Vince! Come take a look at whose out and about in Haven."

A taller man approached them, walking with long strands. He had shoulder length curly dark hair and looked a few years younger then the previous man.

"Dave, what is it?" Vince asked frowning down at the shorter man. " I was in the middle of something."

"Look who it is. This is our newest Haven resident, Isla Ferguson, but everyone calls you Callie right?" Dave turned from Vince back to Callie with a friendly smile on his face.

"That would be me." Callie replied through gritted teeth. She was going to punch Duke so hard, he was going to pee blood for the next week.

"You have to forgive my brother, Dave can be a bit forgetful." Vince told her as he reached down to pet Max." I'm Vince Teague, and this is my brother Dave."

Dave and Vince both stuck out their hands for her to shake, which she obliged before quickly sticking her hand back into her coat pocket.

Dave held up the camera, and told her " We run the Haven Herald together. We share the writing credits for the most part."

"It's equal Dave and you know it. Don't start griping because I got more lines then you last week." Vince shook his head at his brother.

Dave shot Vince an annoyed look before continuing. " I was originally hoping you could let me take you picture for the paper. Vince is writing a piece about outside winter fun, we've noticed you taking walks past our office. But not that I know who you are, how about an interview?"

"A what?" Callie raised an eyebrow and looked around for a way out of this conversation. There was no way in hell her picture was going to end up in a newspaper, let alone grant a freaking interview. She did not do dead very well.

"It's been awful hard to even get a quote from you about the incident on Duke Crocker's boat." Vince told her. " We went down to the docks to your boat, but we ran into Duke coming out of it."

"He told us you weren't interested in giving a quote on winter storms, you know due to your medical condition and all. He did help us out though, Vince." Dave bent down to scratch Max behind the ears. This caused Max to drop to his stomach, roll over so he was belly up and look at Dave with an expected look.

"Yes he was, but since we ran that story already we could do an new in town interview or maybe you could address some of the rumours about that really happened on Duke's boat."

"And what would they be, you know for curiosity's sake." asked Callie with a sigh. She reached up and rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hands. This was not staying the background like she had planned. People were going to remember her in the town and that was a bad thing. A very, very bad thing.

"One rumour would be that there was some illegal actiivityes going on and they turned bad. Which knowing Duke's reputation that one's pretty high on the betting pool." Vince told her as he watch his brother give Max a belly rub. Dave always did have quiet an affection for dogs. " Another is that you and Duke had a steamy romance that involved a little rough play. That one is a favourite of the young ladies."

Where people fucking stupid in this town or on drugs?

"Neither. Duke just had the bad timing to go out to see with me in his boat. Rough sea's, bad storm I got knocked around." Callie told them, as she spotted a familer face down the street. " Do people really think Duke and I had some kind of kinky sex that night?"

"There are some." Dave confirmed standing up.

"I have a couple cracked ribs, a black eye and raw throat." Callie narrowed her eyes at the long, lean figure that was walking down the sidewalk towards them. Speak of the mother loving devil."I don't know what kinky sexy the two of you and the rest of the town get up into but Duke and I are not engaged in any sexual actively of any kind. Kinky, straight up missionary or nasty sex, there's none of it going on between the two of us. You can pass that around the rumour mill."

"Well that's quiet similar to what Duke said." Vince nodded his head, as he stored the information away. "For the most part."

"Oh, how was Crocker's statement any different then mine?"

"He said not yet, at least." Dave told her.

"Not yet what?" Callie asked as she tightened her hold on Max's leash when he saw Duke approaching. He was standing up, tail wagging like he was seeing a long lost friend for the first time. Max apparently had a better relationship with Duke then she did. It must be a guy thing she didn't understand.

"Duke told us 'that you weren't involved in any sexual activities, not yet at least'. I'm fairly certain that's exactly what he said to us, when we asked him to speak to you." Vince told her as Callie's face dropped.

He said what? To complete strangers, and now the whole town is talking about her soon to be sex life. Seriously, this month could not get worse. There was just no way.

"Excuse me, I have to go murder someone." Callie told them through clenched teeth stalking towards Duke. She grabbed his arm with her free hand and jerked him around, heading with quick steps that she was going to regret later towards his truck.

Dave and Vince watched as Callie lead Duke down the end of the street he had just come from. They both were thinking along the same lines, that this was a very interesting development.

Dave turned to his brother and proused a question. " Do you think she knows about the bet?"

"I doubt it. And if Duke Crocker has any sense in his head, he'll keep his mouth shut." Vince answered his brother as he moved a little further down the street in order to hear what Callie was saying to Duke. Dave started to speak but Vince waved his hand to hush him.

Callie didn't know what she was going to do with Duke, short of killing him and dumping the body. He was on a war path to make her life a complete utter fuck up. She hissed at him, throwing him a dirty look a she tugged harder on his arm. "You stupid idiot."

"Hello, Callie." Duke pried his arm out of her grasp and through it around her shoulders. He kept the pace she set, seeing the anger in her eyes, and wondered for a moment what he did to earn it. He had purposely stayed away from her the last couple of days to let her calm down from there last argument. Duke didn't like to see her so angry but Callie was so damn stubborn to just let him help her. "Good to see you this afternoon."

"Not yet, Crocker? I ought to kick you skinny ass right here for the whole damn town to see." Callie stopped short of the side hurt from walking to face, for a minute she thought she might just need to sit down but then the feeling past. " Your lucky that it would only make them more interested in me then they already are. Which by the was way more then I want them to be, by the way."

"What are you going on about? Cause seriously, neighbour you lost me." Duke told her giving Max a quick pat before taking the leash out of Callie's hand. He open his truck and whistled at Max. Max jumped up in to the drivers side of the cab, Duke tossed the leash in and shut the door. It was clear to Callie that this was not the first time that either man nor dog had done this.

"You hinted to the Teagues that we were going to engage in a sexual relations in the future when they asked you to confirm the rumor that we had some wild kinky rough sex on you boat the night of storm." Callie raised an eyebrow, her mouth set in a frown. "And now the whole town is talking about it."

"And there betting on it." The words slipped out of his mouth before his brain caught up to warn him that it wouldn't be smart to mention that. He could see her face go from mad to shocked to down right pissed.

"You are telling me that people in the town are betting on when we are going to sleep together or if we already sleeping together?" Callie asked him taking a deep breath to calm her self.

Duke frowned at his own stupidity. He actually thought the towns interest in their mutual sex life only mildly annoying and kinda enduring. But he doubted that Callie would find it anything but another reason to be mad at him. " A little bit of both but I can't be held accountable for their truly appalling gambling tendencies."

And he had two hundred on the bet that they would sleep together in two months. Duke was really hoping she wouldn't find out about that.

Callie sighed and said with frustration and anger leaking through, " I'm not even going to touch that. I just can't believe you couldn't just leave it at we weren't having sex."

"Yes, that's true. I remember saying something of the sort. We're not, last time I checked." Duke told her with an amused look on his face. He liked it when she was spitting mad, he liked the way her eyes flashed with angry at him. It turned him on. Made him wonder if she'd be this passionate, this intense in bed.

"But you just had to ruin it but throwing in a little male ego boost, huh? Not yet at least."

"Your mad at me for four little words, Callie?" Duke brought his arm up over her shoulder and steered her towards the grocery store. She hadn't showed the last time he had asked her over for dinner, and had tried to avoid him. But clearly in her anger she wasn't thinking clearly. It was her lucky night that this happened to be his one night off this week. "Why are you so mad? Are you tempted?"

"Am I tempted? Crocker have you done hard drugs today?" Callie looked at him like he grew a second head. She let him lead her into the store, picked up a green basket and thrust it at his chest. " I'm surprised your head can fit in here, you know with it being so full of yourself."

"Whatever you say, Callie." Duke smirked as he went down the produce isle. He noticed people looking at them from the corner of their eyes, or the few that blatantly stared. He just hoped for their sake, Callie didn't catch it. He picked up a few vegetables and felt for firmness. He placed a couple tomatoes, a bundle of asparagus, a few lemons, a bag of potatoes into the basket before moving towards the meat area of the store.

"You're an ass." Callie tossed out as she moved a head of him. "What do you want from me?"

"What do you mean?" Duke browsed the beef section, picking through the pre package cuts of meat till he got what he wanted. He cast a dark look at Sandy McLean, a girl he went to high school as he caught a snippet of her conversation to her sister when they passed them. She went red and shut up real quick.

"Don't play dumb, Crocker." Callie caught the look he tossed a loud mouth blonde's way and followed up with a hard look of her own. She wasn't deaf, blind or dumb, she knew people we not so subtlety talking about 'that no good Crocker boy, the newbie.' "What are you black mailing me for, cause really doubt your that hard up for a waitress at the Gull."

Duke walked down the spice isle, and replaced what he was out of at home. He could have taken her to the Gull for a meal, or had his cook make one for him to take home but he wanted to cook for her. Wanted to have her in his space, alone and without the ever present observing eyes and gossiping mouths of this fishbowl of a town. " I thought we talked about this before."

"I'm still a little misty on the details." Callie followed him, ignoring the aching pain in her side. Clearly she had over done her walk, and shouldn't have let her temper get the best of her. " You have nothing to gain from attempting to help me."

"Maybe I'm trying to be a nice person." Duke replied as they headed for the cashier. He grimace when he saw the overly perky brunette ringing in customers. Nancy Ann Rice, the daughter of the biggest mouth in Haven. If you wanted gossip you went to Belinda Jane, who was old as dirty and much more talkative. Duke would bet his last hundred dollars that Nancy would be on the phone to her mother as soon as they left the store.

"Looks like your going to be cooking a feast, Duke." Nancy smiled at him, pushing her chest out more. Although it would probably give her mother a heart attack to hear, but Nancy always did have a thing for the handsome Duke Crocker. She wasn't sure if it was his dark, bad boy looks or his sexy smile that made her want to lick him from top to bottom.

" What can I say, I like to cook." Duke replied, emptying his basket on the belt.

" I bet you cook real good too." Nancy gave her best smile as she slowly rang through his purchases.

"I try." Duke said looking over at Callie would was watching the situation between him and Nancy. He couldn't tell if she was annoyed or jealous. Or pissed off at him. He wasn't sure of much with her.

" So whose all this food for?" Nancy said, trying to bring Duke's attention back to her. She cast Callie a look, giving her the once over. She didn't see anything that she thought would keep Duke's attention for long. Or was even worthy of it in the first place.

"I thought I would cook my new neighbour dinner tonight." Duke watched as a bag boy came over and bagged his grocery's. He had caught the look that Nancy cast Callie's way, and didn't like it at all.

Nancy forces the smile to stay on her face as she rang the item through." Whose your new neighbour."

"Callie Ferguson." Duke told her frowning, he nodded in the direction of Callie beside him.

"Hi." Callie smiled at Nancy. " Nice shirt. Purple's not really your colour is it?"

"That will be thirty three seventy five." Nancy glared at Callie and held out her hand for Duke's money. " I like purple."

"So do I." Callie told her as she walked around Duke and picked up the three bags of food. "But, someone us just can't pull of that colour."

Duke handed Nancy the money and waited for the change. He took the bags from Callie's hand while shoving the change into the pocket of his jeans. "Come on, Callie. Let's go home."

Callie exited the store first, and Duke pretended not to hear the not so quiet conversation Nancy was having the bag boy. The walk to his truck was quick, he put his bags under the covered back and opened the door.

Max was sleeping, stretched along the whole of the cab of the truck. Seeing Duke's face he leap up and went straight for his face, tongue hanging out, drool flying.

"Whoa boy. I see you." Duke said, he pushed Max back a bit. He heard Callie get in the other side, and Max turned directions to try to lick her. Duke got in, shut the door and started up the truck.

"Max, down boy." Callie said in a tone she only used for Max. It was soft, at times playful and always loving. Duke wanted her to use it on him. " I'm not eating dinner with you."

"Yes, you are." Duke backed the truck up onto the street and headed out to the dock. He noticed as he drove the Teague brother's were still out on the street, and had been waiting for them to leave the store. "I can see your in pain. You don't have to hide it. And I know you haven't been eating much."

"I think I may call you friend Warnous." Callie told him running her hands through Max's fur. " I think he would find it very helpful to know you break into my boat in the middle of the night to go through my cupboards."

" We both know you wouldn't do that." Duke looked at her for a moment. He met her eyes, and caught the look she was giving him. " It's just dinner. I promise I won't tempt you much."

Callie snorted, and rolled her eyes. " You're an ass."


	9. A little Story between Friends

Nathan was sipping coffee, his feet up on his desk when his partner walked in. Rather, stormed in as seemed to be her habit theses days. Nathan knew Audrey fairly well, as much as anyone could know her, and this was her figuring something big out mood. He connect the dots of when Audrey started her stomping around to just about their first interaction with Isla Callie Ferguson.

Audrey liked to know things, hated surprises and didn't care much for liars. Her friendship to Duke, a compulsive liar when it came to dealing with law enforcement baffled him. Callie was just one of those mysteries that Audrey was going to pursue till she ferreted out everything about her.

"Good afternoon Parker." Nathan motioned with his coffee cup to the one on her desk he had bought her earlier. It would probably have to be heated up, as she was a bit later then he expected.

"Nathan, does it look like I am attracted to women?" asked Audrey as she walked over to her desk and retrieved the paper cup of coffee from the diner. She didn't bother to add any sugar or cream, Nathan always remembered how she liked her coffee.

Nathan choked on the sip of hot liquid in his mouth at her comment. He coughed, and hacked up was sure his left lung before he could answer her with a slight red face. " What did you just ask me?"

" I asked, does it look like I am attracted to women?" Audrey repeated the question with a straight face, as she sipped the luke warm coffee.

"Why would you ask me that?" Nathan was confused at where this line of thought was coming from. He had never really given much thought to Audrey sexual orientation. She had never made moves to date someone, of either sex. No hints, no side ways looks or nervous girl giggles he remembered from high school whenever one of them would get around a boy they liked. She rarely flirted, and when she did it was usually with Duke, which got under his skin more then he liked to admit." Seriously, Parker where is this coming from?"

"Just something someone said to me." Audrey moved around the desk to sit in her chair. " Callie, actually. I've been stopping by the boat, you know cause she doesn't go into town anymore since she got out of the hospital, and I've been asking some questions about the night Duke's boat left the harbour in that big storm."

"We have both of their statements. There weren't any holes in either of them." Nathan reminded her, even though he knew it didn't matter that both statements match each other. Once Audrey got something in her head, she was like a rabid dog fighting for a bone.

Audrey frowned at Nathan. " You know as well as I do that, something other then what those two are selling happened. I don't know what, but something happened."

"Parker, of course something happened. It's Duke's boat for god sake. That alone should tell you that something illegal more then likely happened." Nathan told her shaking his head. There was one thing you could always count on Duke for, trouble. " Duke's not that stupid to take his pride and joy out to sea when everybody's predicting one of the worst winter storms to hit the coast. He knows better. Nor did either of the two of them sustain that amount of physical damage by getting tossed around the boat during the storm. That being said, neither one of them are talking. And we have no proof of anything otherwise."

"I'm going to find out what happen."

"We have enough on our plates right now, I think you would agree." Nathan sighed as he finished his coffee and tossed the empty cup in to the garbage. " I need you to focus on our already full caseload. Besides what does any of this have to do with you being a lesbian?"

"I went down to see Callie, and she gave me the same run around she has been giving me for the past week, but only this times tells me the reason why I keep coming round is because I'm secretly in love with her." Audrey threw her hands up at the ridiculousness of situation.

"Are you?"

"Your seriously asking me that, Nathan?" Audrey looked at him like he was sporting a third head. " Really?"

"I've never seen you with a guy or really heard you even talk about pass relationships." Nathan told her as he pulled some case files from the corner of his desk to the middle. This topic made him uncomfortable, but it seems she was bound and determined to discuss it.

"I don't have relationships, Nathan. I was never in the same place long enough before I either solved the case or the FBI put me on another one." Audrey told him, shaking her head. " I don't talk about things I've never had, but for you information I prefer one night stands."

Nathan felt his face go from slightly flush to down right stop light red in a matter of seconds as he processed what his partner had told him. " Audrey, I don't think we should talk about this."

"I am not a lesbian." Audrey tried not to laugh at Nathan's clearly embarrassed face. " If you want, I can tell you about every man I have ever slept with to prove it. I'll even give you details."

"No, please sweet Jesus no, Parker." Nathan got up in a hurry and headed for door. " I'm getting some air."

The back of his neck turned red as he heard Audrey's sultry laugh float out of their shared office, following him through the station and out the door.

* * *

Max lay in the corner of Duke's cabin below the deck of the Cape Rouge, chewing nosily on a raw hide bone that Duke pulled out of the cupboard a few moments after they entered the cabin. Apparently her dog had several of his own things here on Duke's boat. Clearly, Duke had a soft spot for her four legged best friend.

Duke watched her as he prepared their dinner. The salad was made, bread warming in the oven, vegetables roasting in a pan on the oven and his mother's mash potatoes whipped and ready to be eaten in a bowl on the counter. His meat was marinated, and grilling on the George Foreman on the counter beside the oven. He sipped his beer and watched her from his kitchen.

Callie took a sip of the juice she had in her hand. Duke wouldn't allow anything stronger because of her medication. He grinned when she called him a pussy. She pretended that his crooked grin didn't make butterflies in her stomach.

She didn't like the feelings he brought when he was near her nor did she like the way she often caught her self starring at him when he wasn't looking. God damn, she was in the shit deep now. Nothing good ever came around when you tied yourself to someone else. Emotional ties, were just baggage that got you killed.

"Callie," Duke looked at her long and hard, taking a drink of his beer and asked her a loaded question. " What are you running from?"

The question hung in the air between them. Callie knows Duke is looking at her with his all seeing eyes, and questioning mind. He knew too much already, more then what was safe. He saw the cracks in her defensives, exploited them trying to force the dam that she had built to flood open. She resented him for changing the game, moving her around to suit him. Making her want a life she couldn't have.

"What do you think I'm running from?" Callie asked she moved closer to him. She took a seat on one of the bar stools, keeping the counter that he was working on earlier between them.

"So you don't deny it. It warms my heart to see your growing trust in me. I'll male you a deal. I'll tell you what I know, and you do the same."

Callie said nothing but nodded.

"I think your running from something big. That number of well built fake identities tells me you mean to run for a long time and probably have been. You know how to lie without showing any tell-a-tell signs. And I know lying, I make a business of it." Duke told her giving her a nod respect. " Crooked knows crooked, sugar."

Yeah, they were two peas from the same pod. Like recognized like. But was he crooked enough to sell her out for a hefty sum of non traceable cash?

"You've built a pretty decent system of moving around, lying and staying in the background. I say you formed it with years of a habit. A professional runner is what you are, sugar. Your calculating, educated in the ways of a good con, and I bet even without that weird hand thing you do, you handle your self well in a fight. My question is, for someone whose got a fight personality why are you such an accomplished runner?"

Callie knew he had located her hidden stash of fake identities, complete with passports, drivers licences, social security numbers and everything else she would need to assume the role of a model citizen of numerous different countries. She wouldn't doubt that he had found her stash of various currency's along with the identities and weapons. When you ran from the people who gave you two choices that often didn't sit well with her, you made damn sure you were prepared for everything.

"You are an observant soul, Crocker." Callie told him as she cracked her knuckles. She brought her eyes up from the counter, hazel eyes met blue ones. Callie swallowed before she continued, keeping eye contact with him. " And for that quality, you just may end up dead before the year's done."

"You said you weren't going to kill me." Duke, gave her a smile as he raised his beer to his lips. Death threats in his business were a dime a dozen. He didn't shake at the thought of them, he just loaded his shot gun and met them at the front door. His daddy didn't raise no pussy, and his mama didn't raise a fool.

"Someone, may just beat me to it."

Duke, chuckled at her. "Then they're going to have to get in line, Callie. If, your thinking you can scare me off from blackmailing you, your going to have to come up with a better story then someone coming to kill me."

"You want a story?" Callie asked him raising her glass to her lips, and taking a drink. " I'll be happy to oblige you, Crocker."


	10. Fairy Tales & Mash Potatoes

"Give me your best then." Duke settled into a comfortable lean against the sink in his kitchen and watched the pretty brunette stare at him.

"You called me troubled that night on you boat. Now I've been around in this town long enough to get an idea of what that means here." Callie began, not really knowing where to start. This was not something she did often, or ever. It broke the first Callahan rule that was drilled into her head as a child. But sometimes you got to risk big to win big. " I didn't one day wake up and could do what I can do. It's not like, so I know I'm not troubled. The term that is used is gifted."

"Gifted?" Duke asked, not understanding what that term meant.

"I was born this way, never been any different then I am now. I didn't have a normal childhood, and certainly don't lead a normal life as an adult because of being gifted. Wasn't enrolled in any schools, didn't stay long enough sometimes to get the paper work filled out. You read me right when you said I'm an professional runner, taught to be that way from birth." Callie said, as she shifted her body on the bar stool. She was uncomfortable telling him this, but he needed to understand the position he was putting them both in. Attention paid to her, might very well carry a death sentence for both of them. " We had to be, it's to easy to kill what's standing still."

"We?"

"My family, and those like us." Callie breathed out, and tried to quell the panic that was rising from the stomach to her throat. She tasted the bitterness of betrayer as she couldn't shake the feeling of selling out her family to a perfect stranger, not only putting her life in his hands but those of her families as well.

There were a lot of people who would pay, better then any delivery Duke could pull off for information that she had and could provide. Duke could make a nice tidy sum of money for turning her over to the right people, in till those right people put a bullet in between his eyes, that is.

" There are more of you?" he asked her, playing with the paper label of his beer. He had never really thought there would be more like her. Sure, he was used to the never ending line of troubled people who rolled through and about town, but there was something unique about Callie. He thought of her as one of kind.

"There are many family lines of Gifted." Callie told him, as she watched him move towards the stove, checking to see if his dinner was done. Duke pulled the slightly crisp veggies off the stove, take the bread out of the oven and began to dish up their plates. He dished out the mash potatoes, one big heap each on their plates. The last thing to go on the plate was their steaks. " This is where is get complicated, so if you don't understand you need to say something, okay?"

"Sure, will do." he assured her as he slid her plate over to her and placed his before him.

"Gifted people always breed gifted children without fail. Our DNA just over powers yours, just the way it is. Unless you start a process to breed it out." Callie began as Duke interrupted her.

"What do you mean breed it out?" he asked as he shovelled a mouthful of potatoes into his mouth.

"It's really a myth to give gifted parents a hope that their child will not be hunted down like a dog for their abilities. You take one gifted person, who creates a child with a non gifted person. Thus producing a child with a weaker level of ability. Then that child repeat this process till the gift is so watered down that it becomes useless. It's barely there, hardly recognized and not likely to be persuaded by the Five Families because you can't do anything with it." Callie moved her fork around the plate picking up one of the vegetables on her fork before running it through the mash potatoes and into her mouth. " The other kind of family line is one where both parents are always gifted. Therefore only producing a stronger gifted child. Those lines are few and far between as most families haven taken to watering down their blood in order to try to prolong their survival."

"Who are the Five Families?" Duke cut into his steak and took a drink of his beer. " Are those the people your hiding from?"

Callie ate more of her dinner before replying. She chewed the steak the best she could with her sore jaw and swallowed. "There they people who are going to kill you if you open your mouth about me. That is if I don't get to you first, and trust me you want me to get to you first. I can guarantee when they come for you, they won't kill you quick Duke. They're torture you to make sure they get everything they need from you. But we'll save all the fun stuff for later."

"Which family line do you belong to?"

"The Callahan's are one of the purest gifted blood lines around. Sure there have been some who have attempted the other path but there most scattered around the family tree." Callie drank a large mouthful of her juice and ate some more of her dinner. " Most have taken great pains to preserved the line, for all the good it did them. Most believe a stronger gift gives you a better chance to fight those that come for you."

Max had finished with his bone and moved into the kitchen to paw at Duke. Duke reached down and lay his hand on Max's hand to scratch behind his ears. Then he bent down low and reached into a cabinet to pull out a bag of Max's brand dog food and full up a large silver bowl. He then filled up an identical silver bowl with water and placed it beside it's mate.

Seeing him take care of her dog pulled at Callie's heart strings in ways she couldn't describe. Max was her one soft point in her life, the constant love and attention that made her feel human. Duke looked at her dog with affection and amusement. It made her want to spend more time with the crooked importer, then she knew better to.

"What makes your line better then the other one?" Duke wanted to know as he saw her glass was almost empty, and put the dog food away in the cabinet and turned around to walk to his fridge. He opened it and grabbed the juice he knew she liked. So he had taken to stocking her favourite fruity blend of juice, when he didn't like or drink it. It was just because he didn't being unprepared for a possible house guest, wasn't it?

"Neither is better then the other, they both have their disadvantages over the other. Just like they have their advantages. Take the pure line, their abilities are strong, they begin to manifest earlier in the child's life and often mirror a relative's ability. For example, my mama's a healer, takes other's injuries onto herself, I can mirror that to a certain point but it's unpredictable but my sister Morwyn is a spitting image on her. My brother Cale, he's took after my father, their were both illusionist or weavers would be our term for them."

Duke frowned at the past tense she was using when describing her father and brother. "Your father and brother were illusionists, like magicians?:

"They could make you see something that wasn't true." Callie pushed around her vegetables on her plate, before scooping some up and into her mouth. " The sky is blue right? They could make you believe it's purple by making you mind see it as that. They push the images into your brain on a deeper level you that it's imprinted there."

Callie shifted her gaze to the floor, and stilled herself. It still hurt to talk about her father, the feelings that stay dormant for so long swelled to the surface. " I was fourteen when they came for him. His blood was strong, his grandfather was one of the best Weavers of his generation. He could make you think that the sky was pink instead of blue. That rocks were coins, leafs were hundred dollar bills. His cousin on his mother's side sold us out. When one the Five Families come, they only give you two choices. You work for them for the rest of your life or in till you pledge your child or children to take up your remaining contract or they kill you and yours where stand."

"There not much on giving options, are they?" Duke hated the way her voice hitched when she spoke of her father. He could see the pain etched on her face, knew that she was trying to hide from him and he had an idea of what this was costing her. He thought he knew what she was going to say next, and he hated hearing it come out of her mouth.

"We were in Texas, it was summer so it was hot as hell. We tried to stay out of city's as much as possible in those days. To many people to keep a eye on. We had rented a house, on the edge of a cattle farm bout fifty miles from a small town. Most of my older siblings, had cut out a few years earlier so it was just Addison, Nordin, Cale, Shawny and me. My mother was in the kitchen, my father in the front yard cutting the lawn. We were running in the back field, that was the only thing that saved us." Callie paused taking a drink of her juice. She could remembered it like yesterday, the way the heat pressed into her. The sound of the gravel crunching beneath the tires of the black SUV's when the pulled in. The sight of multiple men in department store suits surrounding the house, and coming out of the forest behind the yard. Funny how years old memories stay fresh to torment us later on. " Callahan's don't bow to the Five Families, it's a rule. My father died that day, he let them kill him so that my mother had time to run."

"He must have loved you very much. I'm sorry." Duke walked around the counter and reached for her.

"I'm not." Callie shook her head, battling down the tears that threaten to spill over onto her cheeks. " It taught me something I'll never forget. Children don't belong in this life, too hard, too unforgiving and too much of a damn risk. He would have lived if he was alone. But he died and I killed my first man that day. I left my family not long after that, maybe a year or so."

"Jesus Callie, come here." Duke didn't know why he had this need for her, need to comfort to wipe away the unhappiness in her eyes. He didn't understand this behaviour of his, it baffled him. This wasn't an act, a con to reach the prize at the end. This was true genuine emotion, something he had avoid for years. " Let me hold you."

"No, I need you to understand what you are doing Duke." Callie pushed him away and stood up. " I'm not some girl that got herself into trouble with some small time fish. I'm the shit, for life. The people who are looking for me, they will kill you. After they spend days, weeks torturing you for information. You will break, you tell them everything weather you know it or not. And they will kill you. Whatever you are doing here, or trying to do here it's not worth it. Your life is not worth trying to help me."

Duke watched her pace in his cabin, her heart shaped face was riddled with a combination of fear, pain and sadness when she spoke to him. He let her walk away from him, and held his hands at his side, letting her words sink into him. This was bigger and worst then what he had originally thought when he started to black mail her. " I know you don't know me well, Callie but there is something you should know."

"That you're an idiot? Got that clear, Crocker." Callie gave him a weak smile as Max walked over to her and sat down. He rested his big head against her leg and pawed at her for attention like he always did when he sensed she was upset. She knelt down and rubbed her face into neck and sighed.

"That may be true sometimes, and this may be one of them but I don't run. Your pretty isolated here, and Haven's got it's fair share of different people. You'll blend in, I bet. I know you want to bolt, your scared and your past experiences with created a life aren't good but I think it would be a mistake for you to turn and run."

"How so? Settling gets you only one thing, dead. Like my brother Cale. He got tired or running, wanted a normal life. He got a wife, had kids and they found them. Murdered my brother and his wife and took their kids. A convenient gas leak covered up the dirty mess. Five years is what he traded his life for, five fucking years."

" I can help you, protect you. I have contacts." Duke assured her moving towards her. She stood and moved away from Max, backing her self into a corner in effort to get away from him. He moved in on her slowly waiting for her bolt. She darted left around him and he snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. " Let me be there for you."

Duke didn't mention that his contacts he was speaking of were one on lone FBI agent and a snarly local detective that he thought would shoot him rather then look at him. He had his fair share of crooked contacts but he didn't trust them with this or with her.

"Duke, you won't need to wait for someone to come kill you, I'll kill you if you go shooting your pretty mouth off to Parker and Warnous." Callie warned him as she tried hard to relax in his arms but it was hard. It had been a long time since she let anyone touch her that way.

"Audrey has connections that can help you, she can help you if you let her." Duke told her as he loosen his arms, in effort not to make her panic. He ran his hand down her hair, stroking it in a way he hoped would comfort her before resting it on her back. " But why don't we leave that for another night, huh? How about I take you and Max up to my favourite spot?"


	11. The One Phone Call Nathan Didn't Answer

Huge apologies for the massively delayed update! Work has been non stop and I have found it hard to carve out time to get everything down on paper.

* * *

Audrey pulled into the Grey Gull's parking lot, an hour or so after closing. The outside lights were off but she could see a few dim lights through the windows of the restaurant. She sat in her car for a moment, watching Duke restock the bar.

He had a habit of letting his staff go early, as charming as Duke was with people he like the solitude of closing alone. As unsure as he was about being a legit business owner, Duke had settled right in with the highs and lows of owning your own business.

She had had a bad day today, and wanted some of Duke's unique charm and two fingers of his good whiskey to help her forget about the day.

Who wouldn't need a good stiff drink to help deal with the fact she had no idea who the hell she was really was. It seemed like everyone in this town knew something about Lucy Ripley and no one was feeling friendly enough to throw her a bone.

Dried up leads, false trails, failed attempts to uncover information about a woman who may or may not be her mother, yeah just another day in Audrey Parker's life.

Shit, she was going to need more then one stiff drink.

Audrey got out of her car, pulling her jacket tighter around her body and walked up the stone path to the Gull's entrance. It was a crisp night out, the smell of winter on the air wafting in from the ocean. Her boots clunked on the wooden stairs as she walked up them and headed for the door she knew was open.

She stood in front of the door for a moment, watching her crooked friend. His the bruises and cuts on his face had heeled, and she could see the stiffness that had been in his movements had all but disappeared. It appeared that Duke Crocker was on the mend.

Audrey grasp the door handle and pulled, the door swinging wide open. "You know you should lock this, right?"

"Parker," Duke looked up from straightening the bottles behind the oak bar. It wasn't a rare thing for her waltz into his place after hours, it was however a rarer thing for her to come in wearing that scowl that he knew meant trouble. Usually this type of visit was prompted by a shitty shift, one that couldn't be talked out of her by the stoic Nathan. Duke reached under the bar and pulled his special stock of high end whiskey that he kept for himself, and the occasional friend.

To get two fingers of this whiskey, they needed to be a damn good friend. And he didn't have many of those, but Audrey was the closest he could call in a long time.

Audrey watched as Duke poured her a generous amount of Glenfidditch into a glass and slid it over to her waiting hand. She knocked the golden liquid back with ease that always made a Duke a tad bit proud before sliding the glass back over to him for another hit.

"One of those days?" Duke asked her before giving his favourite blonde another hefty hit of whiskey.

"You have no idea." Audrey told him as she made herself comfortable in one of the bar stools in front of the bar. She took of her jacket and laid it on the bar stool next to her before picking up her drink. " There are just some days that kick you in the ass, you know?"

"Tell me about." Duke leaned over the bar and took a really good look at Audrey. She was tired, that much was clear. The bags under her eyes told him that she wasn't sleeping that much, and if he was honest she was a little on the lighter side since she first arrived in Haven. And he doubted that was from her four times a week gym habit. "Nurse that drink while I go grab us some dinner. You can tell me all about it while we eat."

"I don't want to eat." Audrey told him. What she wanted was to get good and fucking drunk, forget about Lucy fucking Ripley. She snagged the bottle from the bar before Duke could reach it and gave him that look." If I wanted to eat, I would have had pancakes with Nathan. You eat, I'll drink."

Duke watched her toss back the three fingers of whiskey in her glass and then pour herself a heaping amount of his whiskey. This was no normal four drink Audrey, this was a completely different breed of Parker.

He needed to call backup.

"Ok, you do that." Duke retreated from the bar towards the kitchen, leaving Audrey with his whiskey. When he swung the kitchen door open he was greeted with a sight he was becoming accustom to in the Gull.

Callie cracked her neck as she closed the store room door behind her. She had just reorganized the shelves of alcohol Duke had stored in the room behind the kitchen. How he managed to find anything in that room was beyond her.

Her old pair of blue jeans were slightly dirty from moving the boxes around and cleaning the store room. Her purple long sleeved shirt was pulled up to her elbows and under her arm was a clipboard with detailed notes on what brands Duke was overstocked in and what he need to order more of.

If Duke knew that she had spent the last hour or so rearranging the stock room he would have chewed her a new one. Even though the doctor gave her clearance to work, Duke was admit that she refrain from lifting heavy objects like a case of beer. It had been a on going fight between the two of them for the last week and a half since she started working at the Gull.

Since the night she had verbal diarrhea and basically spit out her whole life on the floor in front of him, they had reached a tentative compromise. Callie didn't know what having a friend felt like, but when she couldn't sleep at night she often thought this is what it felt like. Duke didn't bring up her gift, if fact she wasn't too sure what he thought about it. He understood there was a lot of pain wrapped up around it.

He went out of his way to make her laugh, he care about Max and never seemed like he didn't have time for her. He had managed to wiggle his way into her life that she couldn't help but give a little bit. They went on walks together around his favorite spot he took her to that night after dinner, as the doctor made it clear that exercise would go along way with easing the stiffness in her body. Both her and Max enjoyed their time around the bluffs that were on the outskirts of Haven. They cook dinner together, exchange books and shared past con stories.

Callie found it oddly comforting.

"Your going to need to order more liquor." Callie told him as saw Duke enter the kitchen . She held out the list she had made when she was reorganizing the back room. "I've listed the brands you are low on, also I've gone through your past orders and I think whoever is doing your ordering is an idiot."

"Great, I'll fix that." Duke told her as he took the list and put it on the kitchen counter. He pulled the brunette over the door, pushed it open just enough for her to see the blonde FBI agent at his bar. "Distract her."

"Excuse me?" Callie hissed at Duke as she turned to him. The kitchen door closed silently as Callie glared at him. "You want me to go distract the FBI agent from what? And why the hell would I go out there with her when all she wants to do it poke at me?"

"I need you to do this." Duke told her as he moved around the kitchen looking for the phone to call Nathan or hell even whatever the name of that woman Nathan was seeing. He would take anyone at this moment. He stopped at the fridge and pulled out a plate of cheese, grapes and assorted finger food, he thrust it in her hands before turned her forcefully towards the door. " In another thirty minutes your going to have a gun toting, drunk of her ass very determined Parker asking you questions which I can assure you, you don't want her to start digging around. A drunk Audrey Parker means nothing to anyone but trouble."

With that Callie found herself pushed out of the kitchen and into the restaurant area. Audrey stared at her for a moment, before swirling the liquid around in the glass and downing it. Callie could see Parker was well on her way to a good drunk as she walked over to the bar.

"Your face looks better." Audrey told her, as she stared at the healed face of woman who she knew was up to something in Haven. She wasn't sure what, but her gut told her it was something big and nasty.

Callie looked at the half empty bottle of whiskey, then back at Audrey." Gee thanks, piss tank."

"You say the nicest things to me." Audrey went to pour herself another drink but the bottle was snatched right up in front of her." If you don't put that back, I just may have to hurt you."

"I think Duke would like that to much, don't you think?" asked Callie as she pulled a second glass out and poured herself two fingers worth of Duke's whiskey. Duke wanted her to distract Parker, then she might as well get in on the fun while the whiskey was running free. " How about I'll pour from now on."

"Duke didn't send you out her to cut me off?" Audrey looked at her as Callie poured more whiskey into Audrey's glass.

"Duke's an ass." Callie told her as she tossed her hair back into a high bun on her head then picked up her glass. She held it out for Audrey to cheers her. " While Duke is playing with himself in the kitchen, I suggest we drink his whiskey, exchange Duke secrets and eat his food."

"That, my none friend sounds like a damn good plan." Audrey clinked her glass to Callie's and watched with appreciation as Callie emptied the glass in one go.

Duke tried Nathan again for the fifth time in a row. Of course the one time in years he calls Nathan, he neither answers or is quiet possible ignoring Duke's calls. He bites his lips in frustration and dials the next number that comes to his mind.

Where the hell was Nathan when he needed him? And since when did Wournos turn off his cell phone? Even the night duty attendant at the police station didn't know where he was.

Duke ran his hand over his face, and wonders what the hell is going to do with drunk Parker. He knew he couldn't leave Callie alone with Audrey for that long. God only knew how much time he had before someone got offend and started to throw punches. He doubted that his bar insurance covered that weird thing Callie's hand does.

He dialled Nathan's cell again, and proceeded to leave another, in his own opinion pathetic message . " Nathan, old buddy. Like I mentioned in four previous messages, you need to get to Gull. Audrey, you know your partner is swilling back my good whiskey like she's a cheap drunk at Kmart. Come here or I swear I'll dump her on your door step when I can manage to pry her away from the bottle."

Duke hung up the kitchen phone and stuck his head out of the kitchen doors. Both the pretty brunette and the inquisitive blonde's head swivelled in his direction. He felt the weight of the stares and panicked.

"You ladies need anything?" he swore he heard his voice for a pitch higher.

"I think we got everything we need here." Callie told him as she waved the almost empty bottle at him. She winked and reached under the bar to pull out a second bottle of his private stash.

"Go away Duke." Audrey waved him off with her hand as she reached over the bar and grabbed two shot glasses. " Callie is more fun to play with then you."

"You got cards around here somewhere, Crocker?" asked Callie as she set the bottle on the bar and began to dig around under the bar.

" Go left." Duke told her as she gave a little whoop of victory. He watched her opened the card box and shuffle the deck like a Vegas pro. He filed that away in the back of his head, Callie had hidden talents every where he looked.

Audrey gave him a pointed stare in till he retreated into the kitchen once more. Duke shuffled his way to the walk in fridge and rooted around in till he found the stash of beer that he knew his chef Alfonzo kept there for his clean up beer.

He grabbed one and cracked the seal before leaving fridge and closing the door behind him. Tossing the cap in the garbage on his way to the counter where he placed on hand on the stainless steel and boosted himself up. He braced his feet on the island and leaned back into the counters, and took a deep pull of the beer.

Sweet Jesus Nathan could not show up soon enough.


	12. Blame it on the Whiskey

_I do apologise for the wait. I hope that this chapter lives up to your expectation. Thank you for all the reviews I do really appreciate them and the time that you spend doing them. Thank you again. _

* * *

Callie looked at Audrey over the rim of her glass of whiskey. She was the most relaxed, Callie had ever seen her. She had her blouse pulled out of her pants, the first three buttons close to the collar were undone, one shoe off and her hair was out of its standard tight bun. It fell around her face like soft, blonde waves in way, she knew men liked to reach out and touch.

Audrey was also completely shitfaced. That could have something to do with her state of relaxation and surely her state of undress.

Callie laid out four cards in front of Audrey face up. She tapped the queen of hearts before she flipped each card over. Audrey squinted both eyes, trying to focus on Callie's speedy hands as she watched the brunette swiftly move the cards around each other in no pattern at all.

The game they were playing was simple, find the queen of hearts among four face down cards. The rules were simple, find the queen the dealer drank but if Audrey lost, and she doing a good job at that, drank a shot.

Audrey was sure that this was a game that Callie had master a long time ago, as Audrey barely ever found the queen. And when she did, there was no doubt it was pure luck. Which burned at the detective who prided herself on her observation skills.

Callie was thankful that Audrey's observation skills were well beyond use now, as she was able to douse the blondes drinks with a healthy dose of water, in what she was sure was a useless attempt to make Audrey's hangover the next morning a tad bit better. Since she was constantly loosing, she was downing shots like nobodies business. She only started playing this game when she started to see double. Callie didn't think Duke could handled two strong willed women blacked out drunk in his bar.

"So, when are we going to talk about what is really going on?" Callie asked as she watched Audrey's finger tap the left outside card. She flipped it over and revealed the queen of spades.

"I don't know what you mean." Audrey told her as she swigged back the whiskey in her glass. She could barely taste the alcohol now, her tongue felt as if it was numb, her head was foggy and somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that this was going to really suck in the morning.

"Bullshit, Rey." Callie said as she collect both of their empty glasses. At some point along the night, Callie shorted Audrey's name. She neither knew why nor was she at the point to care. She mostly blamed the second bottle of whiskey for making her feel the need to make a bond of friendship with a nosey FBI agent. "Cough it up."

Fuck, that need seemed to rear it's ugly head in more then one area of her life lately.

Audrey's eyes were on the deft movements of Callie as she lifted the whiskey bottle and pour the amber liquid into the glasses. Her eyes moved back up to Callie's face, prompted by her demand for the truth." Have you ever had more questions then answers about your life?"

Audrey's questions hung heavy in the air, as Callie slid the watered down whiskey in Audrey's direction. As if to steel herself for the truth of her own answer, Callie tilted the glass to her own lips, and felt the rush of heat in her throat as the whiskey set wave of fire up from her belly. "More then I liked to admit."

Even in Audrey's drunken stupor, she can recognize someone in a similar fate to her.

Audrey thought about Nathan, the way he stands by her side through all the craziness that troubles bring, the unanswered questions and mood swings that accompanied someone who doesn't know who or where she comes from. His stoic often silent ways calmed her troubled waters that rested beneath her surface. He gave her a sense of safety that she was used to providing for herself.

"I hate to say but I don't quiet think that's all of it."

Audrey frowned at the brunette across from her, and wondered when she had gotten so sloppy that Callie could read her face. "It's never so simple here, in Haven."

"No, it's not." Callie replied, a small sly smile appearing on her face. "It wouldn't have to do with the oh so friendly detective Warnous, does it?"

The blonde sighed and took a sip of the whiskey before she answered. "It's not that I don't want him to be happy. He deserves it."

"Sounds like he has someone else warming his bed." Callie nodded, remembering that Duke had told her briefly when she asked about the hostility that Nathan had for him. Crocker answered her question with little to no information about their on going battle of wits but ponying up information about Nathan's rather new love life. "From the look on your face, his new misses doesn't sit to well with you."

"No, yes I don't know." Audrey played with her glass before bringing her hand up to her hair. She ran her fingers through it and let out a frustrated sigh before continuing. "Ever want something you can't have?"

Callie thought of the dark haired man hiding in the kitchen. The man who smelled like whiskey, salt and the sea. Who made her laugh and gave her sizzling fantasy's at night. The man who always had a crooked grin, quick fingers and sharp mind for the con.

Callie licked her lips before replying. "Lately, more then I would care too."

"Duke is a rare man." Audrey told her, catching her eye. "He has been a better friend to me then I could have ever expected. You two work together."

"Doesn't mean it sticks. But the same could be said for your strong and silent Warnous." Callie ran her fingers lightly around the rim of her glass. She could see Audrey and Nathan together. They shared many of the same traits, and from the occasional few times she had seen them together around town they had chemistry dripping off them. All that truth and justice searching, long hours pondering over the truth must have bonded them close. Friendship could easily turn into something more, with the right push. " What are you going to do about it?"

"That's the problem." Audrey leaned back off the bar and almost lost her balance. Callie had to reach for her and pull her back towards the bar by her shirt. "Thanks. Where was I?"

Callie smiled, "What you are going to do about Nathan's current sex life."

"Right, I don't think I have the right." Audrey told her, now leaning onto the bar. "He's waited a long time to find someone, why should I mess it up."

"Do you think your a better fit for him?" Callie asked her, collecting the discarded cards and shuffling the deck of cards. It was her one relaxing habit. She liked the feel of the cards running through her fingers. She had a wore out, dog eared deck that had been with her since she was sixteen and on the run. "Can you make him happier?"

"I think so, but loosing her would hurt him." Audrey pushed her glass towards Callie, knowing she would fill it up. " There is something wrong with her, I can't place it. She just gives me a bad feeling. She's sneaky, a bit of a liar and I don't think she is going to roll with punches that come with his life. I don't think she's built for it."

"You can take my advice, Rey but fair warning it could be complete shit." Callie told her, pushing over a drink that was more water then whiskey to Audrey." Go after him. Why wait, life too short. If you want him, take him."

"Oh, this is all talk." Audrey took a swallow of the whiskey, to her it still was tasting like straight whiskey. " Nathan doesn't even know I exist that way."

"Bullshit." Callie told her. "Duke told me that Nathan get's jealous when he flirts with you. He likes to get Nathan mad."

"Really?"

"Well, you can take it for all it's worth." Callie told her, her eyes cutting back to the closed kitchen door." It did after all come from Crocker."

"True." Audrey thought about what Callie said. "Still something to think about."

* * *

Duke glanced at his watch, and then down at the neat row of empty beer bottles. He was out of beer and Nathan was no where to be found. He eyed up the phone and thought about calling Nathan for the hundred time, but then he remembered that he filled up Nathan's voice mail box.

As Duke wondered what the hell Nathan was doing that was so important, he noticed that the bar was quiet. There was no laughter, loud voices from either women. In his experience quiet women usually meant trouble. And he could think of no worse trouble then drunk Callie and an even drunker Audrey.

Either they were sleeping on the bar or Callie killed Parker.

Duke slid off the counter and moved to the door, he pushed it open slowly, praying not to draw the two woman who he knew were plastered on his whiskey's attention.

Through the crack in the door , he saw Parker a complete mess and Callie swaying just a little bit on her feet. Both women very, very alive.

There he did his duty. He should just say fuck it and go home. But then there was no one to lock the Gull. Shit, and he was out of cold beer. He could go and pillage the stock area but then the beer would take a while to get cold.

Duke could not believe that he was hiding in the kitchen of his own bar like a pussy. If he was going to stay here and wait for Nathan to show up and take Audrey away, he wasn't picky about where he was going to have another beer.

Now he just needed to go out there and get his damn beer.

Duke's hand pushed the door forward and started to walk through when Callie's head whipped around, shooting him a look he couldn't quite read and caused him to stopping him in his tracks four steps into the bar. He can hear Audrey's hushed tone and see her fully focused on Callie. He could just make out what she was talking about before another one of Callie's looks send him hightailing it back to the kitchen.

He was pretty sure he read murder in her eyes.

A coke would be a safer bet then a cold beer.

Duke walked over to his fridge and grabbed a coke out of it. He resumed his perch on the kitchen counter and cast a glare at the phone.

"Fuck you, Nathan."

* * *

Nathan rubbed his eyes as he flicked on his turning signal. It was beyond late, he was irritated and a bit confused. Jess had woke up him, complaining that his phone wouldn't shut up. When he looked at the phone he had twenty three missed phone calls from Duke.

Duke Crocker hadn't called him in years, well not his personal number, and well not for anyone no police matter. Shit, he doubted Duke even did that. It wasn't till he listen to the first three voice messages (anything after that was pointless, cause Duke was boarder line rambling with a hint of hysteria in his voice.)that it clicked into his head. Audrey Parker, the only link between him and the one person he would could honestly say he hated.

For some unknown reason, Parker had develop a soft spot for that lying bastard. Nathan didn't understand it, wasn't sure if he wanted to and would break Duke's legs if he hurt Audrey. He gave up trying to explain to Audrey that Duke was a lost cause, and that she couldn't overlook his less then honest approach to life.

He drove down the gravel drive to the Gull, and parked beside the only car in the lot, Audrey's. Duke would have parked his truck around the back, but the delivery door. And Nathan knew that none of Duke's staff would still be on the clock at this hour.

Nathan wanted to kick himself. He knew that Audrey was in a pisser of a mood when she left the station that evening. Another lead to Lucy Ripley had been a dead end and even Parker couldn't hid the hurt and the confusion she felt.

He meant to comfort her, suggest going to pancakes which had always been his way of comforting her but he had a date with Jess, and he wanted to pick her out a gift for no reason so he was nervous and it just slipped to the back of his mind.

Now, he was here in a deserted parking lot starring at the Gull.

"You don't have to come in with me." Nathan turned to the beautiful woman sitting in middle of the bench seat of his truck. The truck was warm, the wind outside was colder then Ed Miller's bitch ex wife and he really didn't know what condition Parker was going to be in when picked her up off Duke's bar floor. He would prefer if Jess just waited back at her house, but she had insisted.

And now he just wanted her to stay in the truck.

If he was honest he would admit that despite both women trying, it was always a bit awkward being around them. He felt like a piece of stringy cheese being pulled into two different directions, and he wasn't a hundred percent sure why.

Nathan wasn't aware of romantic feelings towards Audrey, but it crossed his mind a time or two that was a better then good looking. They had an easy friendship, great work partnership and she made him laugh. He could see why Jess would feel threatened.

He did spend a lot of time with Parker before Jess came into the picture and now he was spending that time with Jess. He knew that Audrey didn't have anyone besides him and well Duke, so he could see why she felt threatened.

Women made everything more complicated.

"Nathan, it's fine." Jess reassured him. She was going in, weather he liked it or not. Audrey Parker was drunk off her face, and Jess was no fool. She could read that woman's intention loud and clear. Audrey Parker had eyes on Nathan, and there would be no drunk hands or drunken confessions to Nathan tonight. "I'm happy to help."

"It's really cold outside." Nathan touched Jess's face and leaned down to kiss her. " I want you to be warm. It won't take me long to get Audrey. Then we can drop her off at the B and B, go home and I'll make it up to you."

"My coat is really warm." Jess told him, giving him a smile. "With the two of us getting Audrey will be much faster."

Seeing that Jess wasn't budging on staying behind, Nathan nodded and opened the door. He left the truck running as he would want the warmth for the girls when they got it. Didn't matter much to him, seeing as he couldn't feel it.

Jess followed him out of the truck and bit back a sharp in take of breath at the cold weather. The wind coming in from the ocean was a bitch, that bit hard into her skin and made her reconsider getting out of the truck for a moment. She shook her head, ducked underneath Nathan's outstretched arm and matched the fast pace set by Nathan towards the Gull.

* * *

Audrey blamed the whiskey. For everything. For her blabbing mouth, her double vision and the creation of a bond between her and Callie. She didn't want to like Callie, hell she didn't want to tell Callie one of her most private secrets. Fuck, she barely admitted it to herself, and even though her brain was yelling at her to shut up, her mouth was like the run away train. Just spilling the details of her secret longing for her own damn partner.

This moment of truce between the two of them would not change tomorrow. Tomorrow Audrey promised herself, she was going to find out who the hell Callie really was and what the hell she was doing in Haven.

And since Callie aligned herself with Duke, Audrey knew whatever the reason was, it wasn't good. Duke Crocker was trouble by himself, and she had a feeling Haven wasn't ready for the two of them together.

Well at least she wasn't a bitch about it. It surprised her that Callie was attempting to help her figure out what to do about her feelings for Nathan. Keeping quiet about them certainly wasn't helping her at all. She blamed the whiskey for that too. As drunk as she was, Audrey knew Callie had quiet a few drinks too. Considerably less then her, but Callie was at least working a buzz.

Audrey just wished her mouth would shut up before she starting talking about Lucy Ripley. That was not something she wanted to talk about, to anyone.

The sound of the door swinging open from behind her, saved her from the embarrassment of divulging another one of her secrets to Callie. Audrey shivered from the cold air that the open door brought in, and when she turned around she couldn't keep the smile from spreading across her face.

She knew it was stupid, but she couldn't help but smile every time she saw him. His hair was wind whipped, and she was thankful he remembered to wear a scarf along with his jacket even though he couldn't feel the cold.

Audrey stood up, steadier on her feet then she would have thought and moved towards Nathan. He gave her an amused smile and tilted his head down towards her.

"Nathan." Audrey said his name, more softly then she would have liked. She blamed the whiskey for that. She as almost to him when the door closed behind him and Jess stepped out in front of Nathan from behind him.

Audrey halted immediately in her tracks and the smile dropped from her face. She was confused, and sad at the same time. She knew she was having trouble wiping the expression from her face, and damn the whiskey for that. Clearly, the mess up hair wasn't from the wind, it was from being in bed with Jess. And he didn't remember to wear a scarf, Jess dressed him in it. When she finally got her self composed she greeted Jess. "and Jess. What are the two of you doing here."

Callie winced at hearing the slight hurt in Audrey's voice when she hear her speak Jess's name. She didn't have to look at Audrey's face to know that she had to be wearing a punch in the gut expression.

Shit, this was awkward and Callie had no idea what the hell to do. So she poured herself another drink.

"Parker, we're hear to take you home." Nathan told her, moving towards her. She didn't look so steady on her feet and he was confused at why she looked so damn sad right now, in fact he didn't think he ever saw Parker so a mess. "You have the early shift tomorrow, remember?"

"I'm fine really." Audrey told him, backing away. She did not want to be touched by him. She could in the past, pretend Nathan wasn't sleeping with Jess, but that was clearly out the window. She stopped walking backward when she hit the bar stool. "I don't need help to get home."

"Your too drunk to drive, Parker." Nathan stopped moving, when he saw her move away from him. "I would hate to have to arrest my own partner for driving under the influence. I don't think the department could live down the embarrassment."

Audrey knew he was joking, but she just wanted him to leave and take Jess with him. " I'll call a cab."

"Old man Northman doesn't run past ten on a weekday, you know that." Nathan reminded her.

"Your friend Duke, left seventeen messages on Nathan's phone, asking him to come pick you up. It woke us both up and we left the nice warm bed at my house to drive into town to come get you. I guess you don't have any other friends for him to call after Nathan didn't pick up the first five times." Jess tried hard to keep the bit out of her tone of voice, knowing Nathan would be annoyed with her for it but she was tired, cold and just wanted to get out Audrey out of her sight as soon as possible. "I would hate to think Nathan is missing his sleep because you don't know when it's time to quit."

"He didn't put it that way." Nathan shot Jess a look. He didn't understand why she would make Audrey feel like a she was burden or something. Damn it, he was too tired for this shit. "Audrey, it's no big deal. I can take you home."

Duke heard that distinctive deep voice that belonged to one man. Nathan Warnous had finally dragged his ass down to the Gull to save the day. Bout damn time. He set down his mostly empty can of coke next to the empty beer bottles and headed for the door to the bar.

He knew he should have stayed in the kitchen when he walked into tension so thick he was choking on it. He couldn't place the problem til he spotted Nathan's little bed warmer. He could begrudge Nathan a little friendly time but he knew enough about women to know this one did not like Parker, and Parker wasn't feeling friendly towards Nathan's new woman.

He was about to head back into the kitchen when Callie hissed out. " Don't you dare, Crocker."

Duke bit his lip and continued forward, moving behind the bar to stand beside Callie. He looked at the bottles laying empty on the floor and cast Callie a look. " You couldn't have moved towards the cheaper shit could you?"

"The first one was mostly gone already when I started pouring." muttered Callie as she watched Audrey swing around to face them both. Callie's heart felt something strange when she looked at Audrey's hurt filled face. Sympathy filled her heart and it felt weird to her, almost alien like. She had spent so long feeling nothing for no one but a four legged soul that feeling it for someone else was odd to her.

"Duke, did you really want me gone?" Audrey tried not to sound pathetic but Jess made it sound like neither of the men in her life had time for her, both seem to be presuming other interests at the moment.

Duke registered the hurt in Audrey's eyes and sad look on her face when she spoke to him. It ate at him. He had a soft spot, that he would never admit to seeing as she was on the wrong side of the law, the straight side that was. Duke's eyes turned to Nathan with a cold stare. "Audrey, I never said that. Did you tell her that Warnos? That's cold man."

"I never said that." Nathan's jaw clinched and he glared at Duke. It was his fault that Audrey was this drunk, if Duke would just had controlled the situation then this awkward moment would have never happened.

"It doesn't matter." Callie cut in, she could feel Duke stiffen up next to her and she knew he was pissed." I'm sorry you got out of bed for no reason. Audrey's coming home with me."

"What?" Nathan didn't understand why the women that Audrey was currently dogging all over town was offering to take her home.

"I didn't know Duke was making arrangement for you to come down and help Audrey. She and I had already discussed that Duke was going to drive us down to the harbour as he's sober as can be. Speaking of which, you should start the truck so it's warm while I lock up."

"Well, see Nathan they've got it all under control." Jess told him as she grabbed his jacket and pulled him towards the door. " Let's go back to bed. I seem to remember that you promised to make it up to me about this little interruption. I think you should start soon."

Nathan shot Duke a dirty look, and looked at Audrey. " I'll call you to make sure your up for your shift."

"Let's go Nathan." Jess tugged harder on his sleeve and was relieved that he turned around and started to walk to the door.

Audrey waited til they both left and then turned to Callie. " I need to use the bathroom."

"Why are you taking Audrey home with you?" Duke asked when Audrey was out of ear shot. Audrey was not Callie's favourite person by far, and it was vice versa for Audrey.

"I blame the whiskey." Callie told Duke as she drank what was left of her drink.


End file.
